Battle of the Sacred Essences
by Thunderblade
Summary: The dinosaur realm will never be the same! A strange creature has invaded the Great Valley that claims to be from the future with a disturbing past. Littlefoot is intrigued by it but he is have some bizarre dreams of his own. [Complete!]
1. Prologue

Hi there! This is Thunderblade (formerly Littlejay16; just fancied a change in name) and I want to thank you for choosing to read my story "Battle of the Sacred Essences". This is the first time I've posted a story here on as an inspiration from a person who shall remain nameless but he knows who he is (thanks again). Anyway, I started this story about a year ago (and I'm still working on it!) but it's basically is a Land Before Time story that includes a complete mish-mash of hints of other movies and video games that I love including Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Resident Evil and Kingdom Hearts to name a few. If you're put off by my insane logic of cramming so much seemingly irrelevant aspects into a Land Before Time story then do not fret. I've tried to make them as discreet as possible although some elements stick out like a rugby player on a football field! One word of warning is that I hope you have a lot of free time on your hands whilst reading this as I've already surpassed the 150-page mark (as of February 2005, I've hit over 330 pages) and I'm still going strong! I'll add additional chapters every so often so not to bog you down with too much.

August 2006: Now complete, Battle of the Sacred Essences stands at 428 pages long with 84 chapters (including Prologue and Epilogue).

Anyway, here it is! Hope you enjoy reading it as I have enjoyed writing it!

Prologue

Dawn and dusk, Light and Darkness, Life and Death. All of these are essences of which contrast each other throughout their existence with infinite other examples. One cannot exist without the other yet tied by time; one always has a dominance over the other. But where there is a period of one. the other shall follow thus gaining its dominance over its rival. This is the way it has been since life began. Although, sometimes, the pendulum's swing can be disrupted and the equal balance disturbed to the point where chaos will then take charge throwing the fragile equilibrium into darkness. Although this is how it has become; do not fear. For the equilibrium can be re-established by a sacred being who can be the tiny light of hope in the infinite darkness of turmoil and right the wrongs of the world. As a reward, they are given a sacred artefact and that maybe past down through many ages and civilisations that the world will possess throughout its existence. This may not take place at one moment, but perhaps across many eras. And now that time of chaos shall rule again and the light must shine yet again through the darkness. Or life must face its fateful alternative half as the only other means of a solution.

Bounded by fate, parted by time, the sacred lights must rise again and stand united in their new forms to do battle to restore peace's everlasting harmony.

A battle where two worlds must fight to save one planet!


	2. Part 1: Before the Divide Falls

Chapter 1: The Endless Abyss 

"Huh? W-wwwhat is this place?" said the figure. "I can't see anything. Just blackness all around me. I can't even see myself. What's going on!" The figure plunged into a deep abyss of nothingness, just constantly falling. Falling forever. At least it felt like falling but there was nothing to tell if the figure was falling. Maybe it wasn't falling; perhaps it was floating or maybe he was just suspended in the blackness. Still, there was no way of knowing. Then, the sensation of falling was realised by a shooting, blue light from below.

"Whoa!" said the figure with a start, "What was that! It nearly hit me!" Then, another blue light screamed pass like a glistening, shooting star.

"Yyyaaahhhh!" screamed the plummeting figure as more and more blue beams shot past. The figure tried desperately to dodge them but the weightlessness was almost paralysing.

The blue lights were now coming in so fast that the whole area now changed from a never-ending black to a rich, royal blue. The area now had some means of structure and for the first time, the figure could distinguish its own body composition. He saw limbs, four of them; all with four white nails pointing down towards a flat bottom. He had a torso which had a peachy underbelly (which was facing upwards) and a reddish-brown skin colour with a deep mahogany, wavy strip following his spine. Suddenly, a fifth limb appeared from between his lower two, this one with nothing but a fine pointed tip and sharing the same colour code as the rest of his body. The creature breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily forgetting the fact that he was still falling. He looked around calmly still trying to figure something out. The feeling of falling had become second nature and he began to think nothing of it.

Suddenly, from down below, the opposite side to the four-legged creature, two brightly coloured curtains of light shot up and consumed the blue colour surrounding him in a perfectly even ratio. One red to the right and the other green to the left, both shining with the same glistening aura of the blue behind his own head. Then, the weightlessness feeling began to halt and a decrease in speed was felt. The creature felt something manipulating his body and rotated him onto all fours where he landed so softly, his knees didn't even budge an inch as he touched the ground. The tri-coloured aura swirled high above his head as he surveyed his environment like a caged animal released in the wild. Just as he came to grips with what was around him, there was a great flash of a blinding white light. He bowed his head sharply from the intense light and slammed his eyelids shut to protect his eyes. Slowly, he opened his eyes and the great white flare had dissipated and suddenly he became surrounded by a lush, green, fertile landscape full of life and creatures that resembled himself. The quadruped beamed as he stared open eyed at the familiar landscape before him.

"I'm home!" he yelped as the smile on his face grew wider and wider. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice from behind him call a name.

"Littlefoot! Hey Littlefoot, over here!" A hay-coloured triceratops was calling him by name to a stretch of water fed by a large waterfall.

"Cera!" he bellowed to the female dinosaur and ran to her. During his lengthy strides, a shadow cast over him and circled a number of times. Littlefoot looked up and recognised the silhouette that soared above him.

"Petrie!" he called out.

"Littlefoot!" the shadow responded as it landed next to Cera, "where you go? Me no see you all morning!"

"Yeah," the triceratops agreed, "where were you? Me and Petrie were looking for you but you seemed to disappear."

"Well, you'll never believe what happened…" Littlefoot's sentence was cut dramatically short when a rumbling could be heard overhead. The ground shook violently, trees waved dangerously in response to the tremors. Littlefoot felt a surge of panic rush through his mind as he yelled, "EARTHSHAKE!"

Trying desperately to remain calm, he glanced up at Cera and Petrie who stood unnaturally still and undisturbed under the waterfall they knew as "The Thundering Falls".

"C'mon you guys!" Littlefoot said with an urgency that made his voice hoarse, "we gotta get outta here!" Totally ignoring Littlefoot's desperate cry to retreat, Cera and Petrie remain motionless under the waterfall. Littlefoot couldn't understand what they were doing. Normally, Cera was streaks ahead of Littlefoot when it came to fleeing from danger be it an earthshake or sharptooth. Littlefoot stared at them hard and yet within their presence, he could sense no life in them as if they were made of stone. His two friends stood completely still as the rumbling got louder and closer. At that moment, he looked up and gasped as he saw a tidal wave of water rush over the peak of the Thundering Falls. Completely bewildered, Littlefoot saw Cera and Petrie turn away and walk towards the wall of water that was about to crash down upon them. In a panic-stricken flash, Littlefoot ran towards his friends trying frantically to keep up with them. Just as he made contact with them, the wall of water crashed on Littlefoot's head. He felt every drop pound on his skull as the swirling water engulfed him in a suspended prison of endless blue.

Opening his eyes, Littlefoot saw Cera and Petrie still walking away from him. He tried with all his might to paddle after them but a strange force seemed to be pushing him back. Amid his failed attempt to stay with his friends, who were now staring directly at him, Littlefoot felt his chest suddenly pull tight. His lungs screamed for air as he forcefully abandoned his attempt and struggle to the surface praying that he wouldn't drown before he got there. The tightness pulled even more as he squirmed his great weight up to the surface which seemed a lot heavier as he climbed what seemed to be for ever.

Looking up, the surface of the water shattered in a screeching splash as Littlefoot gasped for air which rushed into him cooling his burning airways. Puffing and panting, Littlefoot opened his eyes and slowly walked over to the shore where he collapsed at the mere thought that his life nearly ended at that moment. Just when he thought he was safe, Littlefoot felt a rough textured, slimy object slap him on his right cheek. Startled, he leapt to his feet and glared at his surrounding searching for whatever had just hit him. Before he even knew where he was, he felt the attack again. Bewildered, he looked in the direction of the attack to see a large, heavily built stegosaurus paste his face with saliva. Seconds later, he then heard another familiar voice.

"Littlefoot! Hi, hi, hi!" a green saurolophus barked merrily from on top the stegosaurus.

"Ducky!" Littlefoot exclaimed breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn't being eaten, which was his initial thought, "and Spike!"

"Are you okay?" Ducky asked making sure every word was pronounced clearly so no colloquial slurring could be heard.

"Yeah, I'm all right. You frightened me though."

"We did?" Ducky turned to Spike, "we did not mean to scare you. Oh no, no, no."

"It's okay." Littlefoot giggled at the silly thought that he was being eaten.

"What is funny?" asked Ducky catching on to Littlefoot's snigger.

"Nothing," he smiled warmly, "it's just that…hey! Where are we? This isn't the Great Valley." Littlefoot looked around him confused. All he could see was an endless stretch of sand in both directions, all the time being lapped gently by the crashing of tumbling waves from the sea.

"This is the Big Water! What's going on here?" He turned to Ducky and Spike but before they could say anything, he felt another rumbling from beneath him. Fear charged into his mind again as he felt the tremors getting stronger.

"Another earthshake!" he yelled at the top of his voice and he checked to see if Ducky and Spike were reacting to it which indeed they were. Ducky's high-pitched screams echoed off the cliffs as they shook and struggled to remain on their feet. Suddenly, the ground began to split and this time, Littlefoot was sure this was real. He began to run but something was wrong. His mind was roaring at him to run away to safety but his legs refused to comply. His muscles felt like stones as he pleaded with his own body to move. Was he scared stiff? Was his so scared his body as frozen with fear? Either way, the zigzagging crack of the earthquake snaked its way closer and closer to Littlefoot's static position.

"Littlefoot!" cried Ducky on top of a dismal looking Spike, "do not stand there you silly longneck! RUN!"

It was no use; Littlefoot's body was completely paralysed with fear. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the zigzag crack removed the floor from under him. The last thing he saw was Ducky and Spike peering over the hole, staring down at him as he plummeted into the darkness.

Chapter 2: Littlefoot's Awakening 

Littlefoot could do nothing but scream as he plunged yet again into a never-ending pitch black. By now, he had lost sight of the light coming from the surface and Ducky and Spike's faces were no longer visible. Deeper and deeper into the darkness he fell with no signs of stopping. He heard a whooshing sound pass his head and as he looked up at it, he realized that it was a rock surface. This then allowed crazy assumptions to leap into Littlefoot's mind as the blackness took form of a chasm with him falling down the middle. With the heavy force of the wind against him, Littlefoot rotated his head downwards and shrieked at what he saw. He saw the ground approaching him fast and his free-fall was not slowing down like last time. This time, it had to be real. No weird or magical force of the wind to stop him from crashing horribly onto the solid ground below him. Littlefoot's mind tortured him with visions of what his outcome would be after hitting the floor and his life ending in a split second. Thoughts of his friends and grandparents flooded his vision next as he thought he would never see them again. His final thought was that this time, there was no saving him.

As the ground came ever closer, Littlefoot fell silence. Grieving for his own loss he remembered in quick flashes the great memories he had since his hatching. Seeing his mother for the first time, meeting his friends for the first time, reaching the Great Valley despite all the hardships of the world they faced, seeing Chomper and Ali as they made their arrivals in the Great Valley and he even remembered when Spike left the Valley with that herd of other spiketails to escape the snowfall which everyone had dubbed the 'white ground sparkles'. The good memories of his life soon took its toll on Littlefoot has he wept silently whilst awaiting his cruel fate. He felt the cool, glistening tears run down his face and sharply whip off with the wind as he took one last look at the ground (which was nearly upon him) and held his breath. He felt the impact of the ground as he made contact but that was the last thing he felt before feeling nothing at all.

Littlefoot's body lay motionless on the ground, but strangely enough, he felt a growing warmth. Littlefoot twitched awkwardly and slowly opened his eyes. Was he dead? Had he died and gone somewhere? His head rushed with possible explanations for where he was. The most pressing of all was that if he had died, is this where his mother was? Is this where she said she would be constantly looking over him? Questions marched through his brain one by one but all without answers. As his vision slowly came into focus, he raised his head and looked around. Nothing. Pure blackness surrounding him again. He stood up slowly but discovered he wasn't actually standing on anything. Strange as it seemed, Littlefoot was sure he could feel a floor under him. After taking in the very little that was around him, he decided to call out for someone.

"Hello?" he bellowed. His voice echoed off walls that sounded like they were very close.

"Is any body there…?" Silence. Walking in one direction, Littlefoot decided to do what he normally did best when he was alive which was wander around and explore things. He walked for what couldn't have been more than about a hundred metres when Littlefoot felt his face hit something invisible. Invisible and rock hard.

"Ooowww," he groaned rubbing his face with his left, front foot making himself sound like he had a stuffy nose, "Ow! By dose! What der…?" He started his sentence but then he felt the black ground shake for a third time. Before he could notice this, Littlefoot saw a great beam of light shoot up from what appeared to be the centre of the room. It shot up high into the blackness above and rained down again as droplets of red, blue and green. The room took shape as the wall behind Littlefoot glowed blue, the wall to the left of him was green and the wall to his right glowed red. All three colours were in an exact ratio each covering one of three wall that all joined together to make a triangular shape. Staring in awe, Littlefoot looked around and watched the coloured wall glisten and sparkle like stars. Then he noticed the white beam of light in the centre slowly fade and take the shape of an old longneck.

Gasping, Littlefoot looked around him for a place to hide while the holographic image of the longneck became more and more real. As the last of the light faded, the longneck looked at Littlefoot staring him straight into his eyes which were still slightly damp from his tears. The gaze was piercing as if the longneck was staring deep into his soul. Then, it spoke.

"Hello Guardian," the old longneck said calmly.

"Hhh-hh-hello," Littlefoot stammered not quite understanding why she was calling him "guardian" as he has never protected anything in his life.

"Do not be afraid little one. I am here to guide you."

"Gg-guide me?" he said still a little nervous.

"Yes child. I am here to tell you about your destiny."

"My destiny? I don't understand. What is my destiny?"

"Your destiny is what you were born and placed on your world to accomplish. Everyone has a destiny. For some it is merely to grow old and for some it is to change something about the world that already exists and with it, the very essence of time and history."

Littlefoot stood still confused. What he was born and placed on his world to do? What's that supposed to mean?

"You are a chosen one set to bring about a change in the world."

"Change? What change?"

"A change that will save not only your world, but that of another as well."

"ME?" he exclaimed in surprise, "me by myself? Going to change the world?"

"Not exactly child. See, you are one of three chosen ones sent to restore peace to the world. Yours and theirs."

"Really?" The longneck nodded. Littlefoot still couldn't quite grasp the concept that he was supposed to bring a change to the world, but the idea sounded quite exciting. It would be like he was like Doc, the fabled "Lone Dinosaur", who saved the Valley, but he would have to save the entire world. Suddenly, Littlefoot felt his heart sink. Sensing this, the longneck asked him,

"What is the matter child?"

"I can't change the world though," he moaned, "I'm…dead." He shuddered at the thought.

"In one sense yes you are, but I can assure you child that you are more alive than ever; even more so now I have explained your destiny to you. As one life ends…another begins…" Astonished, Littlefoot rapidly looked himself over for signs of life. He could hear himself breathing, he could still feel pain (as his sore nose reminded him of his silly little incident earlier) and he could feel his temples throbbing which obviously meant his heart was still going strong as the wave of excitement made it hammer hard against his chest, making every beat noticeable. Relieved to have discovered he was still amongst the living, he stopped to ask,

"But, how do I know I am the right one you are talking about? Could you have gotten the wrong dinosaur?"

"Certainly not dear. You are most definitely the one destiny speaks of and your proof is the stone you possess," the old one answered promptly yet calmly.

"The stone? What stone?"

"You are a guardian, one of three other chosen ones. Each possess a stone that holds sealed power as do you."

"Sealed power? What do you mean?"

"Power sleeps within you child. In order to release that power, you must give it a structure to harness it." The old longneck continued, "you are a guardian. To save your world, you must meet with the other two, chosen by destiny, in order to free your world from the darkness that shall, otherwise, consume it." Now Littlefoot's mind was buzzing with questions, but before he had the chance to ask, the old longneck hushed him and simply said,

"Look up there child. There is your proof you are the chosen one."

Stunned, Littlefoot looked up and from the darkness, he saw small, blue object fall down out of the infinite black. One landed in front of him and splashed at his right side, a second landed directly on his sore nose. Littlefoot wiggled his nose as the wet substance tingled as if to soothe his pain. It then ran down his nose and into his mouth. It tasted sort of like the big water did when him and his friends met Chomper over on his island. Then he realized what is was.

"Is that…?" he began. The wise, old longneck nodded.

"It is your very own tears." Amazed, Littlefoot looked up to see if anymore were falling. One last tear dropped from the black sky and dropped directly in front of him, but instead of splashing, it made a pinging sound as it hit the ground and bounced up in his face. As it stopped spinning and laid flat on the ground, Littlefoot looked closer at it to see that his teardrop was solid and strangely triangular shaped. In fact, it was a perfect, equilateral triangle. Picking it up in his mouth, he gazed cross-eyed at it. It seemed to shine with a radiant, deep blue. The old longneck continued.

"That stone is called the "Guardian's Tear Sapphire". It is the proof that you are the chosen one. There are two more stones like it which the other two chosen ones hold. You must keep that with you and never allow the dark hand to seize it from you. Otherwise the consequences will be dire." Nervously, Littlefoot asked,

"Like what?"

In response, the old longneck swished her mighty tail in front of Littlefoot's eyes and transformed the darkened area into what appeared to be a burning wasteland. Littlefoot gaped at the sight as he saw all the trees and greenery of the area burning with unnatural flames that licked bizarre colours. Littlefoot then gasped as he recognised the landscape and the inhabitants fleeing in terror. Volcanoes spewed a constant stream of lava from their summits and thick, black smoke rose out of their tops. He saw his own home burning and his friends and family running terrified from the flames as they engulfed everything in their path. What horrified Littlefoot even more was the sight of his own grandfather lying collapsed from exhaustion surrounded by the wild fire pleading for help.

"GRANDPA!" Littlefoot yelled and he began to run to him forgetting it was only a holographic image. Before he could reach his suffering grandfather, the burning land disappeared from in front of him and Littlefoot dug his heels into the ground to stop himself before he became reacquainted with the wall.

"I am sorry I had to show such a dreadful illusion child," apologised the longneck, "but you see that if the powers of darkness consume that stone… Your world will be lost forever."

Without turning around, Littlefoot lowered his head and said in a depressed voice, "But how do I know I'll be strong enough? What if I can't stand up to it? What if you're wrong?" The old longneck simply smiled and said,

"I know…you will be strong…guardian." And with that, the same bright light that filled the room to start with appeared again and the wise, old longneck disappear into it. Whipping his head around, he called after her, but she did not acknowledge. He still had so many questions; who she was for one. As the white light faded, the red, green and blue strips around him washed down off the walls as a great rumbling could be heard. Littlefoot panicked and looked around for an escape route. The floor was now being covered in a black mist and it welled up around Littlefoot's ankles. Gasping, Littlefoot snatched the sapphire from the ground and made a run for the opposite corner. Before he reached it, Littlefoot felt a vine-like object grab his hind legs, tripping him over. More panic-stricken than before, Littlefoot tried desperately to clamber his way out of the mist that was gradually pulling him in, but to no avail. With the stone in his mouth, Littlefoot felt more vines wrap around him working their way up his body until they managed to pull his head under. Littlefoot gulped for one last breath of air through his teeth and the stone before sinking into the murky black mist.

Chapter 3: A Friend's Gentle Turmoil 

Littlefoot wriggled and writhed to escape the clutches of the vines but they only held him tighter. It was almost strangling him to point where he had to screamed for freedom. Just then, Littlefoot's eyes snapped open to a crystal clear, blue sky. Clouds floated gently past on a southwesterly breeze and the tree rustled welcomingly either side of his head. Without moving from his place, Littlefoot looked around to find himself lying on his back in a sprawled out star shape on the ground. The sun was high in the sky as Littlefoot lifted his head up and yawned exposing all his plant-grinding teeth to the outside world. As he laid his head back down in the position it was before, he saw eight eyes staring down at him menacingly.

"WHOA!" Littlefoot shrieked and sat upright crushing his tail in the process. The eight eyes separated and all laughed playfully. Littlefoot turned around to see the usual gang clouding over him in a laughing fit. Littlefoot sniggered at his own stupidity and called to them rather sternly,

"Hey you guys! No fair! I was asleep."

"Yeah, we know," giggled Cera, "that's why we did it."

"It was very funny," laughed Ducky tagging her usual "yep, yep, yep!" on the end of her sentence.

"Me no see you jump so high Littlefoot," sniggered Petrie as his flew up high to demonstrate how high Littlefoot nearly jumped. Even Spike was laughing so much he was almost crying. A gentle smile spread across Littlefoot's face as he watched his friend roll around laughing kicking up the dust that lay around them. Amid all the childish giggling, Littlefoot's face suddenly turned into a very concerned frown. His smile wiped clean off his face as he tried to piece together what had just happened. The others looked at Littlefoot's depressed expression and their laughter stopped uneasily. Being the most sympathetic of the group, Ducky hopped down off Spike's back and positioned herself under Littlefoot's hanging head.

"Littlefoot? Are you okay?" she asked pouring as much sympathy into her voice as possible.

"Huh?" Littlefoot murmured as he realized he had spaced out for a moment, "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay."

"What wrong Littlefoot?" Petrie asked in a broken sentence that seemed to be missing some words.

"It's nothing," he said promptly trying to shake off any suspicion that something was troubling him.

"Come on Littlefoot," barked Cera examining Littlefoot's face, "we know you too well for you to suddenly say nothing's wrong. So what's up?"

"Well, if you must know, it's about this dream I keep having."

"The one about the dark place and the ghostly longneck?" Ducky asked shivering.

"Yeah, that's the one. I keep having it every night and it seems to be getting more and more worse."

"What's this about?" interrupted Cera now curious having not being told anything.

"Littlefoot keep having dream about falling and spooky ghost longneck," Petrie replied.

Littlefoot went into a little detail about the dream but found it increasing difficult to express everything the way he saw it. He also never mentioned the part about the destruction of the Great Valley as he didn't want to cause an uproar over something so trivial such as a bad dream.

"Guardian?" Cera said confused.

"Yes," Littlefoot assured her, "the longneck keeps calling me 'guardian' for some reason."

"You? A guardian! Ha!" Cera snorted, "you couldn't protect yourself from a fish out of water let alone protect the whole world!"

Littlefoot wrinkled up his face insulted but he'd expect that sort of thing from Cera; being a threehorn and all. Littlefoot then went on and explained about the stone. He didn't dare say if formed from his tears otherwise they would either think he were a crybaby or completely insane.

"What it called again?" Petrie asked unintentionally missing the 'is' part out of his question.

"I think she called it the 'Guardian's Tear Sapphire' or something like that."

"Hah," Cera snorted again, "a load of rotten berries if you ask me." Cera flicked her tail up vertical and waddled off towards the watering hole for a drink.

"It's not crazy!" Littlefoot called after her annoyed but Cera's stubby tail waving was all the response he got from her. Spike trailed after Cera and Petrie followed suit. Ducky, on the other hand, was about to leave but stopped and stared worryingly up at Littlefoot who still remained seated since they met that morning. His frown had reappeared.

"Have you spoken to your grandparents about it Littlefoot?" Ducky asked finally after a minute of silence. Littlefoot stammered for a brief second.

"Not really. I mentioned it briefly to Grandpa, but he said it was only a dream and dreams aren't real." Littlefoot felt depressed again.

"Well…" Ducky began uneasily, "I think that maybe your dream might mean something."

"You think so?"

"Maybe, I do not know."

"So you're saying you believe what my dream is telling me?"

"Well…uurrmmm…no. Not exactly but my mama says that if a dream always comes back night after night, then it usually means something. That is all."

Littlefoot felt betrayed for a second. At that specific moment he thought perhaps Ducky actually believed what he had told her about his dream but in the end, she just disregarded it as nothing just as the others did. He sighed and then said,

"Well, it doesn't really matter at the moment. C'mon, let's catch up with the others." With that, Ducky hopped onto Littlefoot back (using Littlefoot's head as a step) and they trotted towards the watering hole.

On the way there, Littlefoot, despite showing a brave smile to Ducky as he checked to see if she as alright, silently turned the thoughts in his mind over and over about his dream. What did it all mean? Could Ducky possible be right about it having some sort of purpose? Was he destined to save the world? Or was it just some crazy nightmare that had been haunting him from hearing one too many of Grandpa's bedtime stories? Nothing quite made sense and Littlefoot could find no link between any of the points his dream had told him for countless nights since he found that shiny, blue stone a couple of days ago. Other things that troubled him was that if he was indeed the guardian that ghostly longneck spoke of, how would he save the world and more pressing was… who were the other two chosen ones who would fight along side him? Upon reaching the watering hole, he shook the thoughts from his mind and bent his head down to take a long, cool drink from the crystal waters of the Great Valley's freshest watering hole.

Chapter 4: Another World; Same Planet 

"Get them! Do not allow them to escape!" the man yelled at his squad ordering them to seize the two escapees. A boy and a woman fled in terror down a twisted, unlit corridor trying desperately to evade the squadron of men chasing them armed with automatic machine guns. Ducking and turning down each gloomy passageway that all seemed to link together to form an endless labyrinth. The boy turned to see how far the guards were behind them.

"Don't look back! Keep running!" panted the woman as she pushed the child forward more to distance themselves even further. She clutched a pendent she wore around her neck as if to pray to the heavens that they would escape safely. The boy charged round a corner so fast that everything blurred as if he were running at supersonic speed. He barged into a person dressed, in what looked like a white trench coat, knocking him to the ground. He tripped over the person's flailing legs and hit the marble floor so hard the halls echoed.

"Jason!" the woman cried as she overtook him unknowingly, "Quickly!"

"Yes mother," he called after her picking himself up from the ground, "I'm coming."

The two escapees sprinted down to the end of the corridor when shuffling of heavy boots could be heard echoing at the other end.

"Open fire!" one man ordered as the platoon pulled the triggers of their assault rifles. Bullets flew dangerously close to their heads as the boy and his mother ducked and turned the corner. The jingling of empty bullet cases could be heard as they littered the polished marble floor. After tearing round the last corner, the mother stopped and looked back through her shoulder-length, jet-black hair to check on her son who had just emerged from the corner. The loud clapping of the squadron's boots was now getting closer after failing to hit them with over a hundred rounds of rifle shots. As her son caught up with her, she turned around again to look for even the smallest of hiding places. Then, she swivelled around and rattled a red door's handle. It was locked. In desperation, she then took a few steps back and kicked the door in. The door lock shattered as the doorframe gave way to the tremendous force of the blow and swung the door inwards. She grabbed her son round his waist and yanked him into the storage room and quickly shut the door. Holding their breath, the two of them stared up from the floor of the dark chemical cupboard as they listened to the squadron charge past the door and deeper into the complex.

Taking a breath and sighing loudly, Jason turned anxiously to his mother for answers to questions he was formulating as they were fleeing for their lives.

"Mother, what is this place?" he asked between hard, wheezing breaths realizing that the long sigh had not helped him catch his breath at all.

"This is Red Phoenix Laboratories," the mother answered once she had recovered enough breath to speak, "they specialise in a large number of scientific activities that are supposed to revolutionise the way our planet functions. They are specialists in chemical manufacture and energy formation in living creatures. They are currently searching for an energy source that is said to be ever-lasting."

"A perpetual energy source!" Jason said amazed, "but perpetual energy is not possible. Every energy source has an expiry time it can't possibly last for ever." The mother shook her head.

"I'm afraid not Jason. They have discovered essences that prove that such an energy source is obtainable through recent discoveries that we have made."

"How?"

"I don't know." Jason stopped to think for a moment.

"So, what has that got to do with us? Why do they want us dead?" The mother remained quiet for a while but Jason was eager for her to answer his question.

"Why mother? What do they want?"

"I… don't know…" she answered finally. She was clutching her pendent again. Jason remained silent but in his head, he was thinking so fast it almost hurt. The silence between the two of them felt very tense. Jason felt his body gradually cooling down as the sweat evaporated off his skin. He could feel the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins slowly dissipating, but his mind still urged him to ask more questions about why the Red Phoenix Lab personnel wanted him and his mother so badly. His mother was always a good employee here and he even got to know the other doctors she worked with. He especially like one particular doctor that she worked with who name he kept forgetting. Nevertheless, Jason found him quite entertaining despite the seriousness of his work. The doctor always played with him with all the doctor's equipment as if they were playing "Doctors and Nurses" and even gave him his own medical kit with old equipment they didn't use anymore. Jason's mother worked along side him and together they were working on a new project to help the people of their dying nation that was diseased by a deadly virus more potent than any nuclear radiation could possibly emit on a living being. There was an outbreak of this deadly virus when a Red Phoenix tanker, transporting a live sample of the virus, was attacked by protestors and over turned it. The virus was freed and it spread throughout the area travelling in the air, in the water and any other possible vector it could find. There was an antidote for virus but it could not be produced fast enough to cure the people. Then, the death toll of the area counted up; the virus spread and then infected neighbouring counties of South East England from the nation's capital. London was a derelict and no one was spared. Men, women and children of all ages all fell victim to the virus and died with symptoms related to bacterial decomposition of the victim's own flesh. Even government figureheads fell down ill with the virus to the point where the entire country was on the verge of collapse. The virus then spread by birds, rats and marine life to other countries where they fell victim to the virus too. The destruction of the world and the human race.

Jason looked up at his mother as he remembered the world as it used to be. He lost his brother and sister to the virus despite receiving the antidote. He envisioned their decaying bodies rotting from this sickly, merciless disease. Seemed as though the virus was mutating to the point where the antidote was becoming ineffective. Jason even had a sample of the antidote that he stole from one of the laboratories whilst his mother and her colleagues were on a break. One point that Jason couldn't understand was how the global spread of such a powerful virus could be achieved by one simple incident that happened about three years ago and still, the swindling human population of those who survived or did not become infected all seemed linked one way or another to the Red Phoenix group. Was it an accident? Or was something much deeper and sinister happening within the walls that were currently imprisoning them?

"We have to get going Jason," his mother said finally, "if we remain here, we'll be caught for sure."

"Huh?" he looked at her surprised, "do you have a plan mother?" The way she was sitting looked uncomfortable and troubled. Obviously his mother had thought of something as she stood up suddenly and removed the pendent from around her neck, held it close to her chest for a few seconds and then turned and lassoed it around Jason's head. She then stared him directly in his brown eyes and grasped his hands.

"Jason, I want you to swear to me. Never allow these evil people to get their slimy hands on this pendent do you hear me!" Jason looked shocked. This was not exactly the response he had expected from his mother but he couldn't help noticing the fear in her that made her voice tremble and the silvery tears that had started to form in the corner of her eyes.

"I…I," Jason stammered. He wanted to say yes but the emotional barrier between him and his mother was overwhelming. She shook his wrists and almost shouted at him when he didn't quite reply.

"Jason! Look at me! Promise me you will never let these people take that pendent from you! Got it!" She released his wrists and cupped them over the blood red ruby that was wrapped in the gold frame of the pendent.

"Okay mother," he said finally. He suddenly felt very disheartened by his mother's words as if she was regretting what she was saying. Nevertheless, Jason placed his hands over his mother's as they both held the pendent together.

"Now, I have got an idea on how to escape. My guess is that now they have lost sight of us they will shut down all normal exits to the building. If we can activate the fire alarm system, the override should unlock all fire escapes. If we make it to the thirty-seventh floor, we can make our escape over the bridge to the emergency escape pods and we'll be home free."

Jason's depressed feeling suddenly disappeared on hearing this plan and already he was up and running for the door.

"Wait!" his mother called as he nearly turned the broken door handle, "First we need the fire." She smiled almost evilly as she pulled a number of small bottles off from the shelves above them. She took a specific selection, mixed them together and carefully opened the door. Jason cringed and pinched his nose at the rancid smell of the bubbling concoction his mother had just made. As she peered outside the chemical cupboard, she flinched awkwardly. One of the platoon's men was patrolling the corridor at the opposite end. She froze and flattened herself against the open door as she glanced round the corner again. Jason, too, peered around the door but his arm hit a bottle on the lowest shelf as he moved. It rocked dangerously as he turned around just in time to see the brown bottle fall and crash noisily onto the marble floor. The guard jerked in the direction of the sound and began to run towards them.

"RUN FOR IT!" his mother cried as they took off backtracking down the route they had just come from.

"Captain!" the guard called, "I found the targets!"

Once again, the squadron gave chase but before they could reach the corner Jason and his mother had just turned, Jason's mother threw the bottle at them which immediately erupted into flames as it hit the ground.

"Head them off!" the captain yelled as they were forced to take the longer route round.

Alarm sirens rang out as the fire alarm system took action. The overhead sprinklers began to rain water down throughout the entire complex as Jason and his mother ran up the stairs to the thirty-seventh floor. Shoulder barging open the stairwell door labelled "Floor 37" in large yellow paint, Jason and his mother ran straight to the opposite end of the corridor before hearing heavy footsteps of several people heading them off. With a quick glance upwards, Jason saw the barrels of the assault rifles just before they opened fire on him. The bullets shattered the glass windows decorating the walls as his mother grabbed Jason and dived to the right, out of harm's way.

"After them you morons!" the captain screamed agitated seeing his highly trained squad miss their targets again.

"This way Jason!" his mother cried as she pulled his arm and veered left towards a room. It appeared to be an office cubicle.

"We can cut through this office to get to the pods!" she added she saw Jason smash through the door. Jason glanced back to admire the distance he had created between him and the squadron when he was struck on the side of his head with the butt of a handgun. Clutching his head in pain, Jason looked up to find himself staring down the barrel of a weapon that read 'Beretta M92SF' down its side which was now pointing directly at his forehead. The room was so dark he could not see who was now in control of whether he lives or dies. As his mother burst into the room, she froze and gasped. The man then spoke raising his gun now up to her.

"Ah! I've found you both at last! My specimen."

"Specimen?" Jason's mother blurted, "What the hell do you mean by that!"

"You two are my test subjects on a very specialist project I've been working so hard on. I was so upset when you both disappeared I had to send the squad after you," the man cracked a devilish smile that Jason could only see from the reflection off of a broken, chrome lamp that laid on the desk. The man then turned to him.

"Ah, Alpha omega-1616, nice to see you again my boy."

"Alpha omega-1616? What's that mean?" Jason asked bewildered at the strange code the man referred to him as.

"Why, that's your name. Well, your specimen name anyway."

"I'm…I'm a specimen?" Jason was now terribly confused.

"Yes dear boy. For MY EXPERIMENT! I believe you and your mother have some connection to the incredible findings I have discovered."

Jason's mother's mind then picked up on something. That explained the large number of tests she and Jason underwent during the formulation and outbreak of the virus that happened three years ago. Jason ignored this detail and shook his head in disbelieve.

"No! IT'S NOT TRUE! You're a monster!"

"But it is true! Both factors in fact" the evil man reassured him as he cackled hideously and kneeled down beside him. He whispered gently in his ear, "You are my test subject for a multimillion pound project that I will rewarded for proving my theory." Enraged, Jason leapt at the man and wrapped his hands around his throat in an attempt to strangle him. The man batted Jason off and threw him against the door on the opposite side to where his mother entered. The man whipped around disgusted and spat blood out from the corner of his mouth where Jason had caught him in the struggle. Jason rolled over and sat to find the man pointing the handgun at him again. This time, the man was livid and Jason noticed his index finger squeezing the trigger slowly.

"You little brat! How dare you attack me! You're going to make me rich!" Before he could go any further, Jason's mother pounced on the man with his back turned and struggled with him. The man thrashed around as he fought with Jason's mother. Jason could do nothing but stare in awe as his mother fought viciously with the monstrous man like a wild animal. Gunshots cracked and ricocheted off the walls as the man dropped the handgun in pain and attempted to grab Jason's mother who reversed it with a swift block and counter. As they interlocked hands and wrestled with each other, Jason's mother glanced over at Jason and screamed,

"Jason! RUN! Head for the escape pods at the end of his corridor. They're across that bridge. GO!"

"NO!" Jason refused, "I won't leave you!" He watched as his mother somehow managed to throw the man into the metal filing cabinet momentarily subduing him.

"GO NOW! I will follow you. Head back to your hideout and never trust anyone with a Red Phoenix badge ever! Now GO!" Jason did not argue this time as he fled to the end of the corridor. He climbed into the pod and sat watching and waiting for his mother through the closed, soundproof fire door. Jason saw his mother burst through the man's office door as the reinforced Perspex, overhead pod door slid down over his capsule. Jason waved at her to hurry up as the automatic locks clicked in place. Just as his saw his mother reach the fire door, Jason saw a bright, yellow flash from inside. He saw his mother flinch awkwardly and stop suddenly. As his pod pulled away, Jason was horrified to see a red bloodstain on the glass as his mother slid slowly down the glass door painfully.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Chapter 5: Bad Memories 

"Aaaarrrggghhhh!" Jason yelled as his jumped up out of his hammock. Panting, he looked around his hideout to find himself sitting up in his hammock out of breath and shivering from cold sweat. He then slowed his thoughts down as he realised he had dreamt his re-occurring nightmare of his mother's death for a seventh time this week. He picked up his watch which read 3:27am, 14th of September 2113. He was quite amazed at the relatively small advancement the human race had accomplished over the last few hundred years. There were no flying cars or holiday destinations on other planets or anything. The way the world was now it didn't seem like any of that was due to happen either. The country was destroyed beyond repair as everything countless civilisations that humans had created in the capital now lay as fallen buildings and ruins thanks to the decision that was made to destroy what ever was left of England's urban landscape due to the viral outbreak ten years ago. Bad memories of a lost age so they nuked the place with small bombs. Jason couldn't even remember how he survived the bomb raid from other countries but he did remember trying desperately to grab their attention once they had finished decimating everything. They totally ignored him though. Looking at the date he thought of two things. Firstly, how close the human population was to reaching another antagonising year of destruction with the population of the country down to practically nothing. With no means of communication, Jason could not contact anyone and his area seemed to be completely dead. Secondly he thought about that day seven years ago when he and his mother tried so hard to escape the clutches of the Red Phoenix Labs group when he sped away as his mother lay lifeless on the floor by the fire escape door. The nightmare tortured and plagued his thoughts as he replayed that moment several times as mental images. Seven long years since his mother saved his life from that monster at the cost of her own. He was nine then, Jason remember the lonely sixteenth birthday he spent with nothing but a bottle of wine he had taken from a local supermarket that was now deserted as with the rest of his local area and the country thanks to the viral outbreak. That and the haunting memories of his mother being taken from him at such a young age. Still, there was one memory that Jason had kept that he could physically hold and that was the red ruby pendent his mother had given him minutes before she was murdered right in front of him. Since that day, Jason had never removed it.

Jason jumped out of his hammock onto the dusty, wooden floorboards, lit a candle with his last match and made his way over to the mirror that was placed on top of a table. He looked into it and his reflection showed all the signs of a bad night with his eyes bloodshot encased in dark rings and a damp forehead. He ran his fingers through his black, tight curly hair before wandering cautiously outside to see if it had been raining. Sure enough, the early autumn showers did not disappoint as Jason hauled two large buckets filled with rain water into his hideout and poured them into the large tankers dotted randomly around his small home. His mother had taught him well in how to look after himself and educated him in the ways of scientific knowledge so he knew how to treat contaminated water to make it drinkable and various other medical and chemical practices that Jason had now educated himself by reading the many reference books his mother used to bring home from a day's work at the labs. Jason raided his cupboards for anything edible and then slammed them in annoyance as he discovered they were empty. A six-foot-three lad was quite a chore to keep fed and happy with an appetite as large as his. The cupboard fell off its last hinge as Jason put his silver dragon hooded sweater on and trainers and marched out the door to the deserted supermarket to fill his rumbling stomach.


	3. Part 2: Time's Boundary Is Shattered

Chapter 6: A Shadow with a Glowing Heart 

The sun had glided slowly over the sky and had just touched the side of the Smoking Mountain. The bright, blue sky had turned a beautiful, warm orange colour which glowed gently over the Great Valley as its inhabitants began to slow down in anticipation for the upcoming night. All except for the younger inhabitants who were playing down in the Green Meadows. The usual gang were joined by Cera's niece and nephew Dinah and Dana as they dodged Petrie's diving attacks in an attempt to tag them.

"You see us-ee no-wee no-no!" Dinah said happily in her native baby talk.

"Yeah, yeah!" Dana agreed, "Fly-ee no-wee bye-bye Dinee, Danee!"

Ducky leaped into a patch of long grass as Petrie dived down on her but was forced to come up again before he crash-landed into a pile of ferns that Spike had found to eat. Rising up again, Petrie eyed Littlefoot as he ran towards a large oak to hide behind. His giggling gave him away as Petrie flapped his way over to the very same tree silently. Littlefoot peered out from the tree in one direction when Petrie pecked him on the behind from the other.

"Tag! You It!" Petrie called triumphantly.

"Hey!" Littlefoot giggled as Petrie flapped hard to get away from him before he caught him again.

"Nyah nyah!" Cera taunted sticking her tongue out at Littlefoot as he came out from behind the tree failing to shake Petrie off his trail.

"Oh yeah?!" Littlefoot replied taking up Cera's challenge to catch her as she headed off in the direction of the Bubbling Mud. Littlefoot and the others gave chase.

The soft orange horizon slowly gave way to a misty blue as parents' voices could be heard bouncing off the Valley hills to fetch young ones for bedtime. Only Petrie's mother came over to them to retrieve her son from the group before they all said their "goodnights" to each other and headed for home.

Littlefoot did not head directly for his nest. Instead, he took a diversion back across the Green Meadows and through a small thicket. He knew his grandparents would be waiting for him there. Sure enough, on the other side, he saw his grandparents sitting on the grass staring up at the darkening sky as the night came to life with tiny, twinkling stars appearing one by one over the deep, navy background high above them. Littlefoot approached them quietly and stood just short of his grandmother's tail with a wicked thought in mind. Littlefoot smiled and tiptoed over to get closer. He took a silent, deep breath to roar out at them when he heard his grandmother say to him in mid breath,

"DON'T even THINK about it!" Littlefoot let out the pressurised air he built up inside him in a puff and then whined,

"How did you know I was there?"

"I'm your grandmother," she replied lowering her head down to his level to speak face to face with him, "I know everything!" She laughed through a smile and Littlefoot smiled back. "So, what have you been up to today then?" she then asked.

"Hee hee," Littlefoot giggled, "I thought you knew everything?" He raised one eyebrow to his grandmother realising she had just contradicted her own statement. His grandmother simply laughed.

"Hiya Grandpa," Littlefoot then said turning to his grandfather who sat on the other side.

"Hello Littlefoot," he replied with a smirk, "Ready to go home then?"

"Nah, I could stay up all night!" Littlefoot boasted bounding about like a playful newborn but all of a sudden, he let out a big yawn which disproved his last statement. Grandpa chuckled, and watched as Grandma stood up and headed for the nest.

"Come now little one. I think its bedtime for you."

"Okay…" Littlefoot moaned in defeat wishing he didn't yawn when he did. Grandma had already worked her way through the thicket when Grandpa stood up to start moving and Littlefoot walked beside him. As they began to make their trek home, Littlefoot suddenly remembered Ducky's suggestion to ask his grandfather about his dream he kept having. He had told him once already but he could never recall most of it. Until now, Littlefoot has felt the intensity of the dream taking a greater hold on him as he found himself thinking about it whenever his mind wasn't occupied with something else. Despite this, his Grandpa had only seen it as a bad dream and shrugged it off as nothing. Nevertheless, Littlefoot felt he should try again now that he could pick out more points that stood out to him more. He cleared his throat noisily but failed to get any attention.

"…Grandpa?" Littlefoot began a little nervous.

"Yes Littlefoot?" he acknowledged.

"Um…about my…um…" Littlefoot found it difficult to find the right words to say so his grandfather wouldn't kill the conversation as quickly as he did last time.

"Hmmm…Yes?" Grandpa hummed trying to help Littlefoot feel a little more comfortable with what he was trying to say. Littlefoot tried again.

"About my um… dream…" he said it at last, "it's becoming more and more 'stronger' every night. Every night, I see more and more…" Littlefoot now started to rush his words in excitement but an anxious essence was quivering in his voice at the same time. He wanted to get it all out before his Grandpa had a chance to change the subject again. Grandpa could see that this dream was troubling his grandson but despite reassuring him it was not real, the mentioning of destiny had him a little concerned. He remember how Littlefoot's mother has said in her dreams she was told that her destiny lied within her unborn child and that that child would lead its herd to a great victory. Victory over what she didn't say but that lead to the fatal sharptooth attack during their journey to the Great Valley some years back which cost Littlefoot a price that all the treestars in the world would never measure up to.

"And you say that this all started when you found your new lucky stone?" Grandpa asked in amongst Littlefoot's hurried sentences to explain everything in one breath.

"Well…yes. Ever since I found my lucky stone, this dream has come and keeps telling me all sorts of things to do with… my destiny."

"Where did you find your stone Littlefoot?" Grandpa asked. Littlefoot fidgeted uneasily as if to avoid the question, "Well…?" his grandfather continued awaiting an answer.

"In the…" Littlefoot was trying to delay the inevitable as he had now backed himself into a corner. He had gone somewhere where he knew was strictly out of bounds to children as it was home to some of the less civilised classes of dinosaurs; namely the egg-stealers. A dangerous place for wandering little ones to be easily snatched from the herd. Littlefoot knew he couldn't hold it back any longer as his grandfather was now looking right at him rather sternly and no matter how much he tried to dodged the look, he couldn't evade it.

Finally he said, "The Forest of Fear…"

"The Forest of FEAR?!" Grandpa reared up in deep concern but then realised that he was dealing with a very fragile topic. Still, he felt he had to stress the importance of Littlefoot staying out of such a hazardous place, "Littlefoot, you should know better than to go gallivanting off into that forest! You've heard the stories of how children have often wandered into that bewitched forest and gotten lost for days! Some have never returned! You've heard the stories about little Mighty haven't you?" Of course he had. The tale of little Mighty, a small, over confidant threehorn who entered the Forest of Fear and apparently never returned. His parents left the Great Valley after losing Mighty. Littlefoot bowed his head in shame as he received the lecture he had heard time and time again. Normally he would abide by such strict rules of the Valley, but for some reason, Littlefoot felt he was lured into that forest by something. He went alone but he swore he could sense something almost calling him into the forest that is supposed to be cursed. That's how he found his lucky blue stone just lying in the middle of the a pile of fallen leaves as if it were waiting for him to find it. Grandpa looked down on Littlefoot sorrowfully. He did not mean to raise his voice to Littlefoot, but being a parent he had to make his point clear that the Forest of Fear can instantly kidnap a child as if it were alive. He sighed and lowered his head down to Littlefoot.

"I'm sorry Littlefoot but I can't stress enough just how dangerous that place is. Please, make your old Grandpa happy and promise me you won't go back there."

Littlefoot looked up at his grandfather's kind and wise face which was wearing an expectant smile for a positive answer. He bravely smiled back and then said, "Okay Grandpa. I promise." After making his promise, neither Littlefoot nor his grandfather said anything for the rest of the journey back to their home ground. It wasn't until they were a few metres from home when Littlefoot realised that his Grandpa had managed to wriggle out of the conversation about his dream again without even intentionally doing it. With a sigh, he nestled into his little pit in the ground, spun around twice to pad it down and fell asleep.

Littlefoot's sleep that night was another restless one. He tossed and turned as his brain produced scenes from the endless abyss like last time and the number of near death experiences he had. Like a recording, the dream replayed itself exactly as he saw it the first time but every time he had the dream, something new would happen. At the point where he was swallowed by the black mist, Littlefoot found himself puffing and panting and still fighting with the vines. They had pinned him to the floor and were now crushing him. Littlefoot felt the vines digging into his abdomen where his skeleton offered no protection. Even where his skeleton was guarding his vital organs, Littlefoot could feel them wringing the life force out of him like a wet leaf. Littlefoot saw his vision becoming blurred as his body began to give up. At the point where Littlefoot was about to collapse unconscious, a tunnel opened up out of the black and a blinding white light burned in the darkness. The vines seemed momentarily subdued as their crushing action has stopped for a while. In the glistening doorway as the outline of a creature that held a long, shining pointed object. The silhouette had a strange pulsing, red light radiating from its chest, just about in the right place where its heart would be.

This red light was the last thing Littlefoot felt before the vines begin crushing him again. Littlefoot dropped the sapphire that he had in his mouth as he screamed in pain. He looked despairingly at the shadow for help, but it simply stood in the bright doorway motionless. It was as if the shadow creature didn't care if the vines crushed Littlefoot into dust. Then, the dark vines made a lunge for the Guardian's Tear Sapphire. In a split second reaction, the shadow charged at the vines and swinging its shiny, pointed stick dangerously close to Littlefoot's head, it sliced the vines into fragments quicker than Littlefoot could blink. The vines collapsed around him and disintegrated. Littlefoot lay choking for a brief moment when he looked up at the shadow. Its red light pulsating with smaller intervals as if its heart were beating faster. The shadow then picked up the sapphire at its feet and walked over to Littlefoot. In an outstretched limb, Littlefoot took the sapphire back and then looked at the shadow to try to make out any features. The only thing Littlefoot could pick up on was the pulsating red light which glows were getting larger as Littlefoot tried to approach him. Finally, Littlefoot spoke to it,

"Thank you." The shadow remained silent and this made Littlefoot feel uneasy. He tried again,

"Thank you for…saving my life."

The shadow looked at Littlefoot with its head tilted at a peculiar angle. Then, it reiterated what Littlefoot just said, "Thank you."

Littlefoot didn't know what to say next, "Yeah…Thank you for saving me." After a slight pause, the shadow then said,

"You're welcome!" Littlefoot was astounded. Did the shadow just say what he thought it had just said? Before Littlefoot could say another word, the shadow placed its two fore limbs on its body and then said, "I am the Warrior."

"The warrior?" Littlefoot looked confused, "What's a warrior?" He then glanced down at the shiny stick it had cut the vines with. It was glistening in the light and it was made of a substance Littlefoot had never seen before. It looked like stone but it appeared to be sharp and made a distinct ringing sound when the shadow creature used it to save him. "What is that?" Littlefoot asked nodding at the strange instrument.

"It is my sacred blade. I use it to fight and I fight to protect you," the shadow then added. Littlefoot snapped his head round to look at the shadow.

"You are here to protect…me?"

"Yes! I am the warrior chosen by destiny to fight with you." Littlefoot was now utterly flabbergasted. This warrior creature shows up in Littlefoot's more desperate moment and rescues him and now he says he is a chosen one to fight with him. Perhaps it was true. Maybe this creature was a chosen one like him. Excited he began asking questions about him but the shadow hushed him and pointed to the red light on him. Littlefoot looked closer at it without moving from his position and watched it pulse.

"What is that light, Warrior?" Littlefoot asked. The shadow paused for a moment and simply said,

"Heart."

Littlefoot jerked his head back a little bewildered.

"Heart? You mean that is your heart?" The shadow didn't speak; he simply put his two strange fore limbs on the light and said, "Listen here."

Littlefoot looked at the figure a little taken aback. Still, he edged slowly forward towards the shadow and turned his head sideways to placed his ear on the shadow's light. Littlefoot was amazed to hear the sound of a rhythmic heartbeat emitting from the light. It was strangely warm but it sounded like a normal heart beating as if the shadow were alive. Littlefoot listened closer and thought he then hear a voice within the heartbeat. It seemed to be saying something. Littlefoot then discovered it was talking in time with the shadow's pulsating light and it was whispering a name. After a few attempts, Littlefoot then reiterated what it said,

"Warrior's…Heart…Ruby? Warrior's Heart Ruby? Is that what this is?" Littlefoot lifted his head up to find that his ear was no longer resting on the chest of the shadowy creature but he was now staring at the red pulsing light hovering in front of him. Littlefoot gasped in surprise as it then fell to the floor and the light died. A red stone remained were the light had gone out.

"Hey Warrior!" Littlefoot called out without taking his eyes off the stone, "your light suddenly turned into a…" His sentence was cut short as he looked up to see the shadow walking back into the white doorway from whence it came, "Hey wait!" he called after it but the shadow simply continued walking until a bright flash lit up the room. Littlefoot tried to shield his eyes as the white light filled the room. In a hurry, Littlefoot snatched up the two stones and ran in the general direction of the shadow. He felt himself become consumed by the white light when he suddenly lost his footing. In a panic, Littlefoot plummeted down the brilliant white room and hit what felt like an invisible barrier. Instantly, he snapped his eyes open in a cold sweat.

Out of breath, Littlefoot had realised he had just shocked himself so much that he disturbed his own sleep. Littlefoot reared his head up still desperately trying to recover from the nasty jump he gave himself. He looked around his home but found that it was not even dawn yet. The sun still was nowhere to be seen as he tried to get back to sleep. After a few brief moments of recalling what had just happened, Littlefoot yawned, tucked his head into his chest and fell asleep again.

Chapter 7: Answers to Unsolved Riddles 

The journey to the supermarket had always been a joyous occasion for Jason because it was as if he owned the place. He would ride in the shopping trolleys tearing down the aisles and doing exactly as he pleased. Although everything was there for the taking, Jason knew to steer clear of anything that didn't have wrapping on in or wasn't packed in some kind of container. Although the viral outbreak was several years ago, it was still quite possible that it could be living in the flesh of the rotting fruits and vegetables that lay by the entrance. One bite or even a lick of it would probably transfer enough of the virus into you to kill you five times over. Despite this, Jason never touched the fresh food that laid out on display as it was bad anyway and it did nothing but attract flies. The smell was bad enough that Jason couldn't even go near them as they were suffocating to approach. Wandering down each of the aisles, Jason picked out packaged meat and various other goods for him to feast on for probably the next three days. He also took enough sweets and chocolate to be sick but it was all free so why leave them to waste? The next three aisles were inaccessible thanks to the collapsed ceiling that blocked the way. Skipping the next two aisles, Jason turned and raided the beers and wines area, the majority of the bottle were smashed and broken but a few remained untouched on the shelves. Since there were no police or age restrictions, Jason happily helped himself.

Once he finished his little shopping spree, Jason headed down through the checkouts and stopped by one of the tills. He slapped his hand on the counter and said to the imagery person at the checkout, "Put it on my tab. I'll pay next week." With that, he walked off sniggering at himself at his little joke he always made as he exited. Just as Jason turned out of the checkouts, Jason heard a loud thump. He froze and turned around to see what had caused the noise. Nothing moved. He shrugged his shoulders and carried on walking until he heard the noise again, but this time a lot louder. Jason spun around in shock as the sound echoed through the deserted supermarket. Still nothing. He slowly stood upright and was about to turn back to his trolley when a large section of the ceiling crashed to the floor inches from Jason's face. Jason jumped back and tripped at the same time and landed awkwardly on his backside. As the dust settled, Jason looked to see a concrete support pillar from the floor above fall through the ceiling. Startled, Jason suddenly heard more rumbling above him. He leapt to his feet and dashed for the trolley. Almost as a response to Jason's flee, the ceiling began to give way and the entire upper floor started to fall down as the building's integrity began to fail. Hurrying for the exit, Jason raced with his trolley as the ceiling continued to fall after him like a white, tiled wave of water. With one last leap, Jason threw himself and the trolley through the doors just in time to see the entire building crash down and cave in behind him.

Amazed at his lucky escape, Jason stood up and brushed himself off.

"Phew, that was a close call," he said to himself as he picked up the sprawled cans and countless chocolate bars from the cracked pavement that he dived on. With his close shave over, Jason walked back to his hideout to deposit his goods. On the way back, Jason past a number of fallen building and others looked as if they could fall at the next breath of wind. One building stood out in particular which had a symbol of a red bird stretching out of what appeared to be yellow flames. The words "Red Phoenix Laboratories" was fanned out and curved under the symbol. Jason frowned at the sign as short flash backs of that day, seven years ago, flickered in Jason's head. He remembered his vow he made to his mother not to trust anyone from Red Phoenix Labs and never to allow them to take his mother's pendent from him. He held the pendent for a moment as he remembered his sworn promise. Although this calmed the raging thoughts he was thinking, Jason couldn't help but wonder what had become of the mighty Red Phoenix now the world was practically at an end. With that thought in mind, Jason quickly jogged the rest of the way home, packed a rucksack with food, his medical kit and various other things he might find useful including his mother's pocket books on chemicals and medicine and a wooden piccolo he had carved himself out of scrap wood one day whilst bored.

Returning to the entrance of Red Phoenix Labs, Jason stood and stared up at the towering building that looked like it should be condemned and torn down what was left of it. The top ten floors or so laid to Jason's left in massive fragments scattered over the street. Jason swallowed hard and holding the stone in his pendent in his right hand, he slowly stepped towards the building. The glass doors in the front were smashed and the crunching noise of them underfoot was almost piercing Jason's eardrums. Out of the eight possible entrances, six of the doors furthest to the left were blocked by building debris but Jason managed to crawl through the broken window of the seventh door and climbed over the rocks. From his pocket, Jason took out a torch which ran on the solar charged cells he stocked up on before the bomb raids. The foyer area of the building was in shambles. The beautifully decorated gold statue of the same phoenix on the sign outside lay toppled from the fountain where it was based with one wing completely broken off. Jason walked over to the lifts and pressed the button. Then, he slapped his head disgusted with himself. Since the virus outbreak, no electric generators were operating so clearly the building was not being supplied with any power. He glanced to the right of the lifts and saw a staircase. Up to the twenty-second floor Jason had climbed but could go no further as the rest of the upper floors had collapsed onto the staircase making the levels above impossible to reach. He looked to the fire door and barged it open. The rusty hinges creaked deafeningly as the door swung into the next room. This used to be the floor his mother worked on with that doctor he used to know but couldn't remember his name for the life of him.

Jason flicked his torch left and then right to check for any signs of life. He slowly advanced into the darkened corridors that forked left and right alternately as pathways to the many laboratories the building housed. Jason walked down the corridor, his footsteps clapped on the marble floor that laid sprinkled with broken glass as he approached each of the labs' viewing windows. Then, Jason stopped and turned his torch onto the metallic plaque on the wall. It read "Lab No. 2291". Jason knew that this was the laboratory that his mother worked in. He couldn't help but peek into the lab one last time to see what remained. The room was exactly as he remembered it with its work surface stretching all the way around. The expensive equipment that was in the room was all broken and damaged beyond repair. Jason ducked under a low beam that had collapsed from the ceiling above and looked at the workstations that were in the far corner. His mother's workstation was tucked right against the wall. A fallen picture frame of Jason hugging his mother sat next to the destroyed computer monitor on her desk. As Jason picked up the picture and remember that moment when the photo was taken by one of his mother's workmates, a small key dropped from out of the back. Jason put the picture back down and picked up the key. It was his mother's desk drawer key. He slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The drawer slid open on wheels and stopped inches from Jason's waist. Rummaging through the items in there, Jason smiled mischievously at a small packet of multicoloured, pill-like capsules.

"My flash-bang capsules," Jason thought out loud, "so that's where mum hid them." Putting the packet of capsules in a side pocket, Jason suddenly paused and picked up a blue book. He opened the book and began reading the entries. Most of them were about work and new discoveries but a few contained details of some strange references about Jason. Jason began to read some of them out loud.

"January 3rd 2105, Jason and myself have again being called to undergo more of those strange tests up on the thirty-fifth floor. I can't understand why we are constantly asked to do these seemingly pointless tests as they don't prove anything but to be a waste of time. I dare not ask as I fear they will become suspicious and may cost me my job and I'm not prepared to lose my hard-working efforts over something as trivial as a few medical examinations. I couldn't face telling Jason I did something as reckless as that. I think they feel that my close bond to my eldest son has some relationship to the energy frequency reading we managed to obtain purely by accident the other day. Apparently, the life force readings from our exams have proven to be a match with the energy readings required to obtain generate the perpetual energy source me and my colleagues have been researching for the past three years. It also seems to be much stronger in Jason than myself. This may be true but the people higher up are becoming obsessed with our life force patterns that I'm beginning to fear for my son's safety. Perhaps Jason holds the key to unlocking the energy source or something he has laying dormant inside him. Until further notice, we have been told the experiments with the perpetual energy source have been terminated but I sense something may be stirring amongst the higher ranks."

Jason scratched his head. He knew about the perpetual energy source and the ancient manuscripts his mother's archaeologist team found in the Andes but what did all that have to do with him? What could possible lay dormant inside him? Before he had a chance to come up with a logical explanation, Jason heard a loud banging sound from down the corridor. Spinning round be looked through the broken glass viewing window but saw nothing. Feeling a little edgy, Jason put the diary in his bag and decided to head back. Just as he reached the door of his mother's old lab, Jason felt a tremendous rumbling. The floor shook violently as he was thrown off his feet. He scrambled back up and ran for the stairwell door he had entered through. As he approached the door, the tremors got worse as a thundering crashing sound could be heard in front of him. Jason found himself on the floor again as the rumbling strength increased and the crashing sound became louder. A few seconds later, everything stopped and a deathly silence was all that remained. Jason stood up carefully and slowly put his hand on the door handle and opened it. Jason was about to take a step out the door when he froze suddenly. He found his foot dangling over a drop that was at least a twenty-five story plummet to an evitable doom. The building's integrity must have been worse than he first thought as he peered over the edge to see the staircase lying as rubble on the street below. A menacing wind whistled from the height as Jason gulped and pulled his foot away from the edge of the crumbling platform.

"Oh great!" Jason mumbled to himself with his only access point back down to the ground floor stolen from him. "Well. Nowhere else to go but straight ahead."

Passing to the other side of the corridor, Jason came to another stairwell. Excited he ran down the flights of stairs only to skid to a halt on the eighteenth floor as the staircase had collapsed from there down to the bottom. Jason cursed his luck and walked back up. With nowhere else to go, he climbed up before becoming stuck at the thirty-seventh floor. Floor thirty-seven. Something was vaguely familiar about this particular floor but he couldn't remember what. Since the stairs didn't go up anymore, he decided to have a browse around on this floor. Just as Jason approached the door, he stopped at the sound of what appeared to be voices. Before opening the door, he pressed his ear softly against the door and sure enough he heard human voices coming from inside. The door was too thick to understand exactly what was being said so Jason, as lightly as possible, pushed down on the door handle which clicked rather loudly and the heavy creaking of the door's rusted hinges was just as deafening. Opening the door just a crack, Jason peeked into the hall which was carpeted and segmented into cubicles. This was obviously office areas for those who were higher up the hierarchy than the researchers lower down. As silently as he could manage, Jason crept into the hall and tried to follow the sounds of the voices. He slipped round two cubicles and stopped under the third cubicle's window where he thought he could hear the voices. There sounded like there were at least five people in the room as Jason eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Power's still offline. How long till we have enough to power the transporter unit?" one bold voice asked.

"A few more minutes captain, we must be patience. Underestimating the exact amount of energy required will cause an automatic system shutdown," another croaky voice answered.

"The sooner we get this machine operational the better," a shrewd businessman's voice butted in, "we can fix the problems that we underestimated about the project earlier."

"I wouldn't be too hasty sir," a female voice just as strong as the first interrupted, "this prototype hasn't been properly tested, has it?"

"Afraid not my dear but there will be no way of knowing whether our hypothesises have been accurate enough to generate reliable results." Jason began to guess that this croaky old voice must be one of the surviving researchers. On that thought, Jason began to think how these people had survived at all. He was lucky enough, even though it was a complete mystery to him, to have survived once the bomb squad nuked every square inch of London and its surrounding counties and districts. He listened in some more.

"How far now?" a new, younger voice called from the momentary silence.

"Ninety-eight percent complete sergeant. Power restoration in twenty seconds."

"C'mon," one of the people called anxiously, "it's gotta work so we can fix everything that went wrong back then." Jason was counting down the twenty seconds with nods of his head. Whilst he was counting and nodding, he accidentally bumped his head on the wall of the cubicle. The noise was discreet but loud enough to draw attention. There was a shuffle.

"What is it boy?" the younger voice asked something. Jason felt his heart give a horrible lurch as he held his breath as well as wondering who that man was talking to. Jason began to hear a sniffing noise approach him from the other side of the wall. Jason pushed himself closer to the wall as footsteps approached the wall he was up against.

"Zephyr! Here fella…C'mon." A dog barked loudly in response and its footsteps could be heard moving away from the wall. Jason sighed as he slid down off the wall. In a flash, the building's lights flickered on.

"Building's lighting system has been restored and holding," the businessman's voice stated.

"We have power again. Yippee!" the younger man began dancing around.

"Sergeant!" the woman snapped, "don't talk so soon or you'll…" The lights flickered and died before the woman had a chance to finish her sentence. "Jinks it. Great…"

"Arrrggghh! Piece of junk!" the strong voice sounded agitated kicking the machine.

"Dammit!" the businessman joined in the cursing of the machine, "not even long enough to power the bloody lights! Complete waste of time and energy."

"Yeah, energy we don't have!"

"Oh shut it sergeant! It was your big mouth that made it pack in in the first place!"

"Oh, getting picky now lieutenant?" the sergeant taunted.

"Knock it off you two! What went wrong professor?"

"Energy source wasn't strong enough. Maybe if we increase the charge to…" He paused in mid speech as a loud blipping sound echoed in the room.

"What's up?" the woman called.

"The energy sensors have picked up a life reading very close by," he replied picking up a pocket-sized console.

"How close?" asked the captain picking up his rifle.

"It's…" he paused for a moment, "it's directly outside?!" Jason gasped in horror as he realised they were talking about him. He scrambled from his position and bumped the wall as he tried to sneak out sight. Without seeing him, the captain called out,

"Who goes there?" he slapped the side of his rifle loading a bullet into its chamber. Jason hid behind another cubicle further down. The fear of being discovered made his breathing difficult to control.

"Fan out!" the captain barked, "investigate all areas, beta formation! Flush 'im out!"

"Sir!" the other man and woman barked back as they began searching the area. The man with his dog walked away from Jason off to the right but the woman was heading directly for him. Panic flooded Jason's mind as he looked around hopelessly for an exit. He turned and looked at the door he came through. It was his only choice but he had to get the timing right. Too soon and they'd finish him, but too late and they'd capture him and do who-knows-what to him. The woman was closing in on his left and the man with the dog were now heading his way on the right. Jason nervously fumbled with his trainers in desperation when he felt a stone in the sole of his shoe wedged in between the grips. An idea suddenly clicked. Taking the stone, Jason peered round the corner and down the central corridor. He then threw the stone down the corridor so it bounced noisily off the glass of one of the cubicles at the other end. The search team flinched and ran down to the opposite end to investigate. As soon as they got far enough, Jason sprung up from his position and sprinted for the door. The search team reached the other end and looked up to see the back of Jason heading for the stairs.

"Halt or we'll open fire!" the captain shouted. Jason didn't care what they decided as he pulled open the door.

"FIRE!" the captain shouted followed instantaneously by a loud clattering of bullets. Jason slammed the door behind him as bullets ripped through the wood. Jason fell to the ground as splinters flew over his head. All of a sudden, the gunfire stopped and he heard a radio transmission as well as footsteps heading towards him.

"Red Phoenix Squad! We have a possible hostile on the thirty-seventh floor heading down the west wing staircase. Backup is to cut him off from below. Orders are 'shoot to kill'! Repeat. 'shoot to kill'!"

Jason began to take off down the stairs as the people above kicked down the door. Gunfire sprayed over his head as one of them shot from above down onto him. Jason panicked but kept running for freedom. He stopped on the twenty-fifth floor to hear more patrol persons coming up and the search squad from above. They were trying to box him in. He swirled around and kicked open the door and fled down the marble corridor. The squadron burst through the same door seconds later as Jason turned a corner narrowly escaping more bullets that chipped and destroyed the marble slabs that tiled the walls. Without even knowing where he was going, Jason turned into a lab to shake the squadron off his trail but they opened fire on him through the viewing windows of about three labs that separated him from them. As he sprinted through the darken room, Jason heard one of the men shout after the charging squad,

"He's heading for the lab with the doorway! We can head him off!"

The captain nodded, "You four head that way with the professor. The rest come with me."

Jason charged on not daring to look back. He burst through a door into a room that contained a large machine that looked like it had been gathering dust for years. Jason was about to barge through the door in front of him when he heard the loud clapping of some of the squad member coming from the front and the other closing in from behind. Fear paralysed him as he backed against the base of the large machine. He clasped his pendent and began begging that he'd make it out of this mess alive. No sooner had he started, the squadron burst through both doors simultaneously and held their weapons directly at Jason. Jason backed away slowly with his pendent still in his hand.

"FREEZE!" one squad member yelled threatening to pull the trigger. Jason stood still as if they wouldn't notice him.

"It's a kid captain?! Do you think he's infected?" one of the other men called in surprise.

"Hold your positions!" he barked at them. He then turned to Jason whose eyes were wide open with fear. "You there! What are you doing here?" Jason remained silent still holding his pendent. "Answer me, boy!" He then noticed his hand on his pendent. He then shouted at him, "Hands where we can see them!" Jason ignored him but kept his eyes on them at all times. He slowly backed up the ramp that lay at the base of the dusty, old machine. "STAND STILL!" the captain ordered. Jason froze solid. The woman looked sympathetically at Jason and then turned to her captain.

"Captain. Do you really think this type of force is necessary?" she questioned, "he's just a kid and he's scared stiff. He's obviously not infected or he would have done something irrational by now."

"Silence lieutenant! Return to your position!" the captain snarled in disgusted with her attitude. He then turned back to Jason who was now leaning with one hand on a console and his other hand still on his pendent.

"Now," he said slowly, "I'm going to give your to the count of three to get on your knees with your hands on your head." Jason's eyes opened even wider as he suddenly realised his life was now on a knife-edge. He began begging again and his hand on the pendent felt warm.

"One!" Jason begged even harder as the warmth got stronger.

"TWO!" Jason suddenly felt a surge of energy shoot through him from his feet up to his head. He gasped at the shock and felt the surge pass from the hand on his pendent to his other hand that lay on the console.

"THREE!!!" Jason shut his eyes awaiting his death when a large blast of wind came from behind him. A bright, blue, circular light emerged from the machine as the wind knocked the entire squad off their feet. Jason opened his eyes and looked around at the blue light that looked almost like a doorway. He then turned to the squad who lay scattered on the floor. Jason didn't know whether to trust the light as his mother had said never to trust anyone from Red Phoenix Labs but this wasn't exactly a person; it was a machine and a machine that might just save him. As he hesitated, Jason suddenly heard the captain scramble to his feet finally and then yelled, "GET HIM!" Without giving it a second thought, Jason leapt into the blue light as gunfire erupted just mere split seconds after. As he passed through the light, Jason suddenly felt himself falling into the deep blue light that had now consumed him. Squad member tried to dive into the light to follow him but as soon as Jason was out of sight, the bright, blue doorway disappeared as the men dived and landed heavily on top of one another. The old professor stood up, adjusted his glasses and stared in awe at the event that just happened.

"The Chronos Doorway? It works!" he laughed with glee at the successful test run of his strange portal.

"Damn!" the captain punched the wall demoralised at how a simple kid had evaded him and his squad. The female soldier stood and gaped in as much astonishment as the old professor. She then turned to him. "Sir. Where will that portal take that kid?"

"I'm afraid I won't know until I read the computer's log system. Amazing how he managed to activate it without using the main power source. Incredible."

"Do you think he'll make it?"

The businessman snorted as he brushed the dirt off his clothes, "He won't survive. This piece of trash as never been tested and it's still got loads of bugs to work out of it. He's as good as dead." The lieutenant looked at the giant machine and sighed in pity.

"Poor kid. Where ever you may be, may you rest peacefully."

Chapter 8: When Worlds Collide 

Early morning dew sparkled on the leaves of every plant as the sun's rays warmed the Great Valley as the morning slowly crept up from behind the hills and mountains. Littlefoot had had another bad night of stirring nightmares so he was up just as the hazy, red sun peeped over the Smoking Mountain as it did every sunrise. He paced up and down wondering what all of these dreams could possibly mean. Of all the dinosaurs in the world, why would something like this only happen to him? It hasn't happened to any of his friends and his grandparents have never complained of any strange nightmares about their destinies. Why him? Who did he upset or what did he do for all this to start? Suddenly it hit him like a falling rock. His lucky stone. The stone he found in the Forest of Fear a few days ago; that's when the nightmares started. Littlefoot then paused for a moment to think since it could have just easily been coincidence that the bad dreams have occurred since he picked up that blue stone. The judgements seemed to contradict themselves as it was on the night of that exact day he found the stone that the dreams began. Littlefoot stood in confusion.

"Are these dreams really meant to proclaiming something?" Littlefoot asked himself, "Or could Grandpa be right and they could be just bad dreams that don't mean anything?" He turned and glanced at his sleeping grandparents. They'd be waking up soon as more and more of the sun appeared over the Smoking Mountain.

"Well…" Littlefoot said finally, "I guess there's only one way to find out what's going on here and that's to go back to the Forest of Fear. I'll be breaking my promise to Grandpa though but I have to find out what this is all about." With that determination in mind, Littlefoot took one last quick glimpse at the position of the sun which was still three-quarters of the way hidden behind the mountains. Without a second glance, Littlefoot took off west to the cursed forest that lay on the far edge of the Great Valley border.

By the time Littlefoot reached the Forest of Fear, the sun was now half way over the mountains. He had to be quick if he didn't want to be caught by anyone because if his grandfather found out he had broken his promise, he would be in worse trouble than before no matter what his excuse. He turned to look at the woodland ahead of him. Despite the light shining throughout the Valley, strangely this forest remained dark and creepy as if the sunlight didn't want to go in. Littlefoot stood on the edge hesitantly as he suddenly remembered the story of Mighty who got lost in there. Littlefoot began to worry about entering; perhaps he was lucky not to have been caught by egg-stealers last time. Maybe this time he won't be as fortunate. Littlefoot then shook his head hard trying to shake all the negative thoughts he had just created out of his mind. He wanted to find out why his dreams have been so disturbing recently and he was determined to find out what answers he could discover from the supposedly bewitched forest. If he found any at all. Against his better judgement, Littlefoot took his first few apprehensive steps into the Forest of Fear with nothing but his burning ambition to find out why the past few nights have been so troublesome.

The forest was so dark, despite the light radiating from outside, that Littlefoot had a little difficulty weaving in and out of the trees without bumping into a few of them. The trees were also positioned very close together so tightly that Littlefoot had to squeeze through the small gaps they provided. The thick canopies of the tall, spindly trees shook as Littlefoot brushed past them. As some of the leaves fell down in front of him, Littlefoot felt his stomach tying itself in knots as hunger started to settle into him. The leaves on the ground were all brown and crunchy underfoot so they didn't seem good enough to eat. Littlefoot looked up and nudged a tree with the side of his head to get some leaves to fall. Small, arrow-headed leaves dropped and flipped over in their descent and Littlefoot tried his best to snap at them and catch a few in his mouth. After clumsily snatching half a mouthful of leaves he began to chew them cautiously. In disgust, he suddenly spat them out again.

"Yuck!" he gagged as the acidic taste of the leaves burned his tongue, "uck…they were horrible!" Obviously, the leaves were specifically adapted for the lack of light the forest received which gave the leaves their nasty taste. After failing to obtain some means of sustenance from the arrow shaped leaves, Littlefoot plodded onwards deeper into the dark, natural maze of the forest.

About an hour had passed when Littlefoot began to become discouraged. He hadn't found anything and he knew the sun would be nearly up. As a matter of fact, Littlefoot did manage to notice that the forest had lit up a tiny bit as rays of sunlight pierced through the thick overhead canopy in thin beams but it was still dark enough to present a problem. It wasn't long before Littlefoot realised that he was lost. He looked around him and saw nothing but thin tree trunks suspended in darkness. Now he was feeling regretful. He should have heeded his grandfather's warning and not returned because now he was lost in an infinite labyrinth of trees whose leaves are not even good enough to lick. He stopped and sighed at the thought of becoming the next Mighty to become swallowed up the Forest of Fear crept into his mind. In his mourning for his own loss, a rustling was audible from behind him. Littlefoot's ears pricked up on the sound making his heart skip a beat. The rustling seemed to be circling him as he stood poised. The noise stopped abruptly and a tense silence lingered in the still air. Littlefoot felt his body lose control as he began to tremble nervously. He turned gradually around at the area where the rustling had stopped. For a brief few seconds, Littlefoot saw nothing and thought that perhaps a small lizard had run through the undergrowth. He was about to start walking again when he heard a fearsome growl from the area behind him where the noise had stopped. In a freaked panic, Littlefoot charged straight into the forest in the hope of losing the creature in his flight without looking back to see what it was. As he took off, a strange, lanky dinosaur jumped out from behind a bush and gave chase. It stood on two legs with well-adapted, streamline body for running unlike Littlefoot's bulky body in direct comparison. Littlefoot heard the dinosaur catching up with him as he tried to dodge in and out of trees to shake it off but the dinosaur's agility was much greater than his as it mirrored his exact movements. Littlefoot rushed through tight spaces in a frantic attempt to get away but his predator was hot on his heels. Once it got close enough, the slim dinosaur tried to pounce on Littlefoot as it leapt up high to land on his back. Littlefoot turned a sharp corner around a tree as the chaser's failed attempt left him in a heap. Littlefoot anxiously ran on into a clearing and hopped over a large tree-stump but then skidded to an abrupt standstill as he found the woodland up ahead far too tightly packed in to squeeze through. In frustration, Littlefoot tried to force his way in between the trees but they threw him back and didn't budge.

Littlefoot crazily searched high and low for a path to escape as he heard the long-limbed dinosaur coming closer all the time. Before he had time to think, the dinosaur jumped into the clearing where Littlefoot was still looking for some means of refuge. Littlefoot heard the dinosaur land a few yards from him as he jumped and whirled around to find himself staring directly at it. The dinosaur licked its thin beak as he raised its arms above its head in a menacing position ready to pounce as it slowly crept up to him. Littlefoot backed up as far as he could hoping for a miracle. The dinosaur hopped onto the tree stump and roared loudly at him as if he wasn't scared enough. Just as the dinosaur was about to spring onto Littlefoot, a bright blue light emerged from behind Littlefoot's back. Littlefoot jumped and turned in shock as the blue light crackled with stray lightning and blew out a strong wind that was hard to fight against. As both Littlefoot and his captor glared at the blue circular light, a black, wailing object suddenly shot from out of the blue light at supersonic speed. It tackled the lanky dinosaur wiping it clean off its feet and landing in a heap in amongst the brown leaves on the forest floor. The predatory dinosaur squealed in pain as it ran off into the darkness.

Littlefoot stood in amazement as the blue light suddenly shrank and disappeared from sight as instantly as it had appeared. Bewildered by the event that just took place, Littlefoot then turned and looked at the object that shot out of the light. It lay painfully, facedown and partially covered in leaves. Littlefoot wandered up to it carefully tried to make out what it was. It had an unusual hump on its back but it lay sprawled out over the ground making distinguishable features difficult to make out. Littlefoot then tapped its side with his nose. To his amazement, the object groaned and shuffled a bit. Littlefoot leapt backwards in surprise; what ever it was, it was alive. The creature rose up onto its knees and gingerly shook what looked like its head but it appeared to be covered in short, black hair. Littlefoot arched backwards to distance himself from the creature as it sat up on its heels.

Chapter 9: A New Breed of Dinosaur? 

The creature looked disorientated as its head turned one way and then the other trying to get its bearings. Littlefoot stood paralysed at the sight of the creature as he could have sworn he heard it say something. It groaned and held its head in pain as it slowly turned over on its heels. It stared and blinked at Littlefoot for a split second.

"Wwwwaaaaa!" it yelled leaping backwards landing on its backside in shock.

"Aaaarrrggghhhh!" Littlefoot replied in a scream as he too hopped backwards in utter surprise. More surprised at the fact that the creature talks.

"Where am I?" the creature asked in a daze. Littlefoot didn't answer. The shock had still left him immobilised. The creature looked around trying to take in its surroundings. "What is this place? It's not England that's for sure." It then turned and looked hard at Littlefoot.

"What?! A Brontosaurus?!" it exclaimed in disbelieve as if its eyes weren't functioning properly. It began muttering to itself, "this isn't real! What happened? Jason, pal, you really need to lay off the chocolate bars for a while!" Littlefoot's expression then turned from paralytic with fear to dumbstruck. What was this creature saying? It seems to be talking his language but it was saying things he'd never heard of before.

Jason jumped up from his seat and dusted himself off. He had to find a way out. He looked at Littlefoot who was now back in his fearful state. Jason held out his hand and asked Littlefoot softly,

"Do you know where we are?" Littlefoot just looked at him still stunned. Jason could sense that this dinosaur was afraid of him so he knelt down to talk to him on the same eye level and in the softest tone of voice he could manage, he slowly spoke out to Littlefoot for help.

"Can you help me? I'm lost." Jason stretched out his hand to Littlefoot and tried to make contact with him. Littlefoot felt very nervous at first but something inside was telling him that this strange creature was not a threat to him. Before he could decide on whether to trust the creature or not, Littlefoot felt its hand brush softly on the side of his face. His first instincts were to flinch and run away, but as it stroked his cheek, it felt strangely relaxing and non-offensive. It was the same feeling as when his grandmother rubbed her head gently against him to comfort him when he felt upset about something. It was so soothing that Littlefoot found himself rolling his head in its hand to increase its effectiveness. He smiled and felt a well of trust spring up inside him. This creature was not a threat to him as the head stroking proved. Littlefoot felt the creature pull its hand away as he adjusted his head and looked warmly into its brown eyes. Jason felt that the head rubbing had obviously worked in gaining the dinosaur's trust so he asked him again.

"Do you know a way out of here little guy?"

"Not really. I'm lost too." the dinosaur replied. Jason leapt up to standing with amazement and slowly backed away. He had been expecting a response, but not like that. The dinosaur actually spoke back to him. Littlefoot looked at him puzzled as if he had done something wrong. It was suddenly scared of him now.

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked Jason.

"Y-yyy-yyou can talk?!" Jason gasped with his mouth hanging open in disbelieve.

"Yeah, and so can you I take it."

"Bbbb-bbut dinosaurs don't talk!" Jason stammered.

Littlefoot looked confused. "Of course I can talk! Why wouldn't we talk? How would we understand each other if we didn't talk?" Littlefoot could now see that the creature was now the one who was in shock, "What's the matter? Are you scared of me?" Jason found he couldn't answer. He wasn't scared of Littlefoot, he was just speechless that he was having a conversation with an animal other than another human being. He swallowed hard and then said in a trembling voice,

"No, it's not that. It's just that I thought dinosaurs didn't talk."

"Well, we do," Littlefoot reassured him, "are you okay? You look a little sick." Jason had turned a little pale from astonishment but he slowly found his voice and started to talk to him civilly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just that you startled me that's all."

"Why?"

"I never knew that's dinosaurs could talk."

Littlefoot giggled. "Dinosaurs do talk as you do…" he suddenly paused, "uuurrrmmm….Are you a dinosaur too?"

"Me? A dinosaur?" Jason didn't know what to say. If he told him he was a dinosaur maybe he could gain a little more trust from him. If he said no, maybe he'd run away and leave him. He had to make a choice quickly.

"Yyyeess," he lied, "I am a dinosaur. A new type of dinosaur." Littlefoot stood and stared at Jason dumbfounded.

"You are? You don't look like a longneck or a threehorn. Are you a swimmer of some sort?"

"Uuurrrr…Yeah! That's exactly what I am. I'm a 'swimmer' type dinosaur." Littlefoot looked at him peculiarly. He looked nothing remotely like Ducky. Littlefoot began circling him and sniffed him a bit. He stopped just behind Jason.

"Hey. You don't even have a tail!" Littlefoot announced as he walked back in front of him like a four-legged interrogator, "are you sure you're a dinosaur? You don't look anything like a dinosaur in the least."

Jason paused nervously. "Ah! I take it you saw right through me…" he then finally admitted.

Littlefoot sniggered, "Well…you'd be the strangest looking dinosaur I've ever seen." He smiled and Jason smiled back.

"What's your name? You do have a name don't you?" Jason then asked.

"Yeah. It's Littlefoot," Littlefoot introduced himself, "who and WHAT are you?"

"My name's Jason. I'm a human being." Littlefoot frowned in confusion.

"What's one of those? Is it a new type of dinosaur?"

"No, no. I'm a creature of a race that lives in the future long after the reign of the dinosaurs."

"You're from the future? Like tomorrow? Or the day after?"

"Ah…a little bit further than just a day's difference. It's more like sixty-five million YEARS in the future!"

"WOW! That's amazing!"

"Where are we anyway?"

"This is the Forest of Fear. I was searching for something when I got lost."

"How do we get out?"

Littlefoot dropped his head in shame. "I don't know…"

"It's alright. We can find a way out all we have to do is backtrack the way you came right?"

"But how? I don't know what way I came from."

"Look there," Jason said pointing at the leaves that were about ankle deep, "I can see a trail through the leaves. Don't you dinosaurs ever pick up your feet when you walk?"

Littlefoot gave a blank expression but was pleased at the same time that his new friend had managed to figure a way out.

"C'mon, let's get going," Jason said waving his arm over his head.

The trail wasn't too difficult to follow but the intense darkness of the forest made it hard to make out exactly where the trail was.

"It's pretty dark in here ain't it?" Jason said to Littlefoot.

"Yeah, I can't even see the trail anymore." Sure enough, the forest was so dark that the trail began to disappear from beneath them. Littlefoot sighed.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Don't worry. I gotta torch we can use." Littlefoot looked at Jason with his confused mien again, wondering what it was he was talking about.

"What's a…a torch?" Littlefoot asked as Jason rummaged around in his bag for his torch. He turned to Littlefoot in a slight disgust that he didn't know what a torch was. Then, he promptly remembered that dinosaurs have no technology and popped his grey and black torch out from his bag.

"This is a torch."

Littlefoot eyed it with intrigued curiosity. "What does it do?"

"Watch…" Jason replied as he flicked on the torch and a golden beam of light shot out from the little device. Littlefoot was astounded.

"It's like a tiny Bright Circle!" Littlefoot cried in awe.

"A what now?!" It was Littlefoot's turn to explain what he meant as Jason now looked at him confused.

"The Bright Circle. Don't you know what that is?" Jason looked at him blank.

"The big, bright light in the sky that looks like a circle."

"Oooohhh!" Jason said suddenly catching on, "I get ya! You mean the sun. You guys call it 'the Bright Circle'?"

"Yeah." Jason laughed at the simple yet clever logic in Littlefoot's thinking. Then it dawned on Jason that Littlefoot would not know even half of the things he would know as humans have surpassed dinosaurs in terms of intelligence and complex understand. Still, he couldn't help but laugh at logic that Littlefoot's understanding of the sun had just made him say.

Suddenly, Jason's laughter was cut short by a rustling noise in front of them. Littlefoot backed under Jason's backpack as they both stood still to see what had created the noise. Jason then quickly realised that his torch would be a give away of their location and he clicked it off. They stood in pitch black for a tense moment as their eyes readjusted to the darkness. The rustling noise multiplied and separated into two, and then four. Four separate rustling sound surrounded Jason and Littlefoot as they stood nervously waiting for the creatures to show themselves. A faint squeal noise came from one bush as four slim dinosaurs leapt from their hiding places and stood trapping Jason and Littlefoot in a tight circle. Escape was impossible as Littlefoot noticed the lanky dinosaur that had chased him before.

"Egg-stealers!" Littlefoot whispered to Jason in terror. Jason peered at Littlefoot hiding under his bag as he whispered back,

"Is this where they live?" Littlefoot nodded as he saw the four dinosaurs slowly close in on the two of them.

"What are we going to do Jason?" Littlefoot cried quietly in panic. Jason remained silent but he suddenly leapt forward and shouted,

"Right you creeps! You're not taking us without a fight!" Littlefoot glared at Jason as if he had lost his mind. The slim egg-stealers looked at each other slightly bewildered at the strange creature's little speech but then resumed their slow, menacing approach.

"They're not listening Jason," Littlefoot said nervously as he began to quake with fear thinking his boastful bluff had been called. Just as the egg-stealers were in pouncing range, Jason flicked on his torch and shined it in their eyes. The egg-stealers wriggled and writhed at the attack as their eyes stung from the flash.

"Come on! Now's our chance!" Jason yelled pulling Littlefoot up by his neck. Jason pointed his torch at the ground as he tried as hard as he could to distinguish Littlefoot's path with the rest of the fallen leaves. Littlefoot was right behind him. They then came to a fork where two trails had now formed. One path was Littlefoot's but the other must have been made by something else.

"Which way?!" Jason shouted in a panic. Littlefoot eyed both paths scanning them for clues to which one he had come down.

"That one!" he suddenly cried recognising the brown fungus that was growing at the base of the tree on the right hand side.

"You sure?" Jason double-checked.

"Positive! That fuzzy stuff was on my left when I came through so it would be on our right when we return shouldn't it?" Impressed with Littlefoot's thinking, they both charged down the left path as the thundering footsteps of angry egg-stealers could he heard in the darkness behind them. Littlefoot and Jason sprinted headlong into the forest as a crack of light could be seen through the trees ahead.

"There!" Littlefoot cried, "We're nearly out!"

"But those creepy lizards are still on our tail!" Jason wailed looking back to see their menacing faces appearing out of the darkness. Jason noticed the two behind him but lost sight of the other two. Jason then glanced to his right at the sound of heavy footsteps as he saw one of the other dinosaurs running along side him a few metres away. Similarly, the fourth one was on the opposite side mimicking the other on the other side.

"They're trying to close us in!" Jason cried catching onto their attack plan. The dinosaurs on either side of them began to move in closer as the light at the other end got larger as they approached. With a couple more metres to go, the egg-stealing dinosaurs were in attacking range as they chased Littlefoot and Jason to the edge of the forest. They all pounced at the same time; two from behind, one from the left and one from the right. Jason looked up as one was about to land on him. The end of the forest was just in front of them.

"JUMP!" Jason screamed as he and Littlefoot made one last dive for the light. They tore through the trees and rolled uncontrollable on the ground as the four egg-stealers all caught each other in mid air and slammed into the base of the last thick tree on the forest's border.

Jason and Littlefoot groaned in pain and gently found their feet as they looked back into the forest to see their predators limping back scowling at each other. They both breathed a sigh of relief as Jason looked around at the green, flourishing, fertile land that stood before him. Littlefoot saw the amazed look on Jason's face and smiled proudly.

"Whoa!" Jason gaped with his eyes almost bugging out his head, "this place is incredible!"

"Yeah, I know," Littlefoot agreed shyly.

"What is this place?"

"This is my home. The Great Valley." Jason stood in awe at the beautiful landscape. He had never seen such greenery in his life. His grandmother had a little place in the country with a small meadow but that was as green as he had seen but never like this. Life in the year 2113 was practically a bigger concrete jungle than ever so plant life was a rarity but here it all grew naturally and without restriction and tampering. The sight was so overwhelming that he almost passed out from giddiness.

"I can't believe this place! It's so beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before." Littlefoot's proud smile remained firmly fixed on his face as he was so pleased Jason admired his homeland so much. As his pride swelled up more and more, Littlefoot then heard a familiar voice calling his name. Jason heard it too.

"Is someone calling you Littlefoot?"

"Yeah. That's my Grandpa. He's probably been looking for me all morning. I'd better go see him to let him know I'm alright." Littlefoot was about to take off when Jason stopped him in mid pace.

"Errm…What about me?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Well… you could just stay here while I talk to Grandpa for a second."

Jason began to feel nervous and out of place.

"But what if someone sees me?" Littlefoot paused and thought. He could tell Jason wasn't feeling too comfortable about being by himself but he was also thinking about what his grandpa would say if he saw Jason. He had no other choice.

"I guess you'll have to come with me then." Jason looked at him a little stunned.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Yeah…It shouldn't be a problem. Come on." Littlefoot then ran down the hill which the Forest of Fear sat on. Jason called after him and ran down the hill almost tripping over his own feet in his scramble.

Chapter 10: Meet the 'Four-Legged' Parents 

A five-minute run down through the meadows led Littlefoot and Jason past late sleeping herds and down to a small clearing bordered by trees. Jason could see two adult dinosaurs ahead and automatically thought these were his family due their uncanny resemblance to his newfound friend. Littlefoot stopped on the edge of the clearing and Jason bumped into him failing to respond to his sudden halt. Littlefoot turned to Jason and whispered to him,

"You stay here… I'll be back in a minute…"

"Okay," Jason whispered back as Littlefoot ran on into the clearing. Jason perched himself behind a bush bearing some strange berries that looked remarkably like blueberries. Jason they turned his attention to Littlefoot as he spoke to the male dinosaur. The female dinosaur had wandered out of sight.

"Hiya Grandpa!" Littlefoot chirped trying to hide any signs of mischief in his speech.

"Good morning Littlefoot. Where did you go so early?" Littlefoot jerked awkwardly as his grandfather had just asked the one question he was hoping he wouldn't.

"I…I just went over to the watering hole for a quick drink that's all."

His grandfather looked puzzled. "But how long does it take to get a drink? Your sleeping spot was cold when I woke up this morning." Littlefoot realized that his grandfather was slowly trapping him into telling the truth but strangely he was managing to do it without meaning to. Littlefoot stammered as he rushed his mind to think of another plausible excuse for his absence so early because normally when he gets up, his sleeping place remained warm for the best part of the morning. His grandfather was starting to become suspicious as he found Littlefoot could not look directly at him.

"Littlefoot?" he asked coaxingly but sternly at the same time, "Where did you go this morning because I'm certain it wasn't the watering hole." Littlefoot knew he was cornered now and that hiding anymore would put him in deeper trouble. Even so, he didn't want to admit that he had re-entered the Forest of Fear and broken his promise but his grandfather's stern look was too penetrating to evade.

"Did you go back to that forest that I told you not to?" his grandfather picked up from his inability to look him in the eye and tell him. Littlefoot couldn't say anything but lower his head and nod.

"Littlefoot. How many times must I tell you to stay away from that wretched place?! It is dangerous and you could be hurt in there!"

"But I had to. I wanted to find out what my dreams are about so I wanted to go to the place were I found my stone."

"That's not the point Littlefoot. You promised me you wouldn't return to that forest and you went back on your word!" Now Littlefoot was beginning to feel guilty. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have gone back to the Forest of Fear but he couldn't fight the urge that had driven him to find out answers that he thought would dwelled within the forest. Littlefoot felt defeated as he awaited his scolding but his grandfather just sighed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you. I want you to remain safe at any cost but I also want you to realise that I do care for you even when you think I'm being unfair. I understand that your dreams have been troubling you Littlefoot but you must realise the dangers that are present." His grandfather's expression then turned from stern to intrigued.

"Just how did you manage to escape from there Littlefoot?"

Littlefoot looked up at him. Now he had to decide whether he should mention about Jason's rescue or whether to simply say he didn't know. Before he could answer, his grandfather promptly added, "and don't lie to me this time!"

Littlefoot gulped as that last statement hit his conscience so hard he could never have the heart to lie to his grandfather now otherwise he'd feel so lower than dirt and dishonest.

"I…" he began.

"Yes? Carry on…" his grandfather insisted.

"I had a little help from a friend…" His grandfather suddenly jumped to an immediate conclusion.

"You didn't take one of your friends into that forest as well did you?!"

"NO, no! Nothing like that Grandpa!" Littlefoot reassured him, "I…met someone in there…"

"You met someone in the Forest of Fear? Who?" Littlefoot was now feeling a little sickly. He had now roped Jason into the problem without thinking and how was he going to explain that Jason was not a dinosaur? His grandfather would never believe him. Nevertheless, he had to tell him.

"His name is…" he suddenly stopped and looked over at the bush were Jason was hiding. With a guilty conscience already, he decided that showing his grandfather Jason would be much better than telling him. He turned back to his grandfather.

"Would you excuse me for a second Grandpa? I need to get something…"

"Alright… but be quick." Littlefoot ran over to the spot were Jason lay in hiding. He nudged the bush to bring Jason out. He then led a very apprehensive Jason over to his grandfather. His grandfather was flabbergasted at the strange two-legged creature, with a great lump on its back his grandson was leading over to him. Stopping at his feet, Littlefoot then said to him,

"Grandpa. This is Jason…" Jason felt really nervous but he wanted to make a good impression.

"Hello sir," Jason said in a quivering voice and bowing in respect to Littlefoot's grandfather but also fearing that he would crush him into the ground with his mighty foot.

"Hello there," he replied once his voice had returned, "you must be Littlefoot's new friend."

"Yes. I met Littlefoot in that strange forest."

"He rescued me from a pack of egg-stealers Grandpa!" Littlefoot butted in hoping that that would boost Jason's credentials a little. Then he felt worried that mentioning the egg-stealers and wondered if it was the right thing to say.

"You saved Littlefoot?" Jason looked at Littlefoot for a clue on what to say next but he answered for him.

"Jason appeared and helped me escape the forest and those egg-stealers when they chased us." Littlefoot's grandfather signalled for Littlefoot to remain silence by merely raising his eyebrows. Littlefoot stopped with half the sentences he wanted to say stuck in his throat.

"Well…" he said finally, "who ever you are, I thank you for helping my grandson escape that horrible forest."

Jason looked stunned. "Erm…You're welcome."

"But please tell me a few things?" Jason now felt uneasy from the gaze and the last question Littlefoot's grandfather had just asked, "I don't wish to be rude but…what, exactly are you? And where did you come from?"

"I'm a creature that lives sixty-five million years in the future. I'm no dinosaur or a weird type of dinosaur either," Jason replied rather bluntly but sniggered at his little joke.

"Then what are you?" Littlefoot's grandfather asked still a bit confused.

"I'm a human. My race, uh or 'herd' if you will, exist millions of years after the reign of the dinosaurs." As Jason began explaining all he could about his kind, Littlefoot prayed silently that his grandfather would believe everything Jason was saying. He had a strange feeling of trust and loyalty in Jason for some reason having only known him for a few hours. He also listened to how Jason's kind were very intelligent and changed their way of life from that of the natural life that Littlefoot and the dinosaurs had. It was a very difficult concept to grasp but at the end of it all, Littlefoot had learned a great deal about Jason and his lifestyle and found it amazing that his kind exists so far in the future. There were a few other things that Littlefoot didn't quite understand but he felt he could ask these questions at a later stage.

About half an hour had passed before Jason finished explaining about the human race and his lifestyle in his time of the year 2113. Littlefoot and his grandfather were greatly intrigued by how Jason's kind had come about after the ruling of their own. Even Littlefoot's grandmother was first shocked at Jason's presence but was then enlightened by the stories he had to tell. Jason did not mention anything about how scientists believed that the dinosaurs died out as he felt it was not his place to tell about their fateful demise a few million years ahead from now; whatever the time period may have been at that moment.

"Well…" Littlefoot's grandfather said after a lengthy chat on the passage of time between the dinosaurs' and Jason's time, "that was quite a tale. I cannot believe that we are currently standing in front of a creature that will rule the world long after us. Simply amazing." Jason shrugged shyly and would have blushed if it weren't for his tanned skin tone making the red colour indistinguishable. Jason had also learned a little about how herbivorous dinosaurs lived in harmony together in their homeland.

"Your Great Valley is absolutely stunning!" Jason stated as he surveyed the area, "its all so incredibly beautiful and peaceful."

Just as Jason had finished his sentence, both he and Littlefoot heard someone calling Littlefoot's name from a distance.

"Who's that calling you Littlefoot?" Jason asked expecting him to mention another relative. Littlefoot pushed his head high into the air to get a better listen. The sound travelled on the wind's breath as he instantly recognised it on hearing it a second time.

"That's Cera and the others. They must be looking for me. I should have met up with them ages ago." He then turned to his grandfather.

"Grandpa? Can me and Jason go play?"

"Certainly Littlefoot. Take care of Jason won't you?"

"I will. C'mon Jason, let's go!" Jason looked a bit apprehensive.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't know if your friends will like me."

"Don't worry they will!" Littlefoot boasted without a care, "Cera may turn her nose up at you at first but she did that with all of us when she first met us."

"Okay…" Jason slurred still a little unsure, "if you say so then I'll go."

"Alright, let's go!" Littlefoot yelled as he leaped and bounded towards his friends' voices and Jason hurried after him.

Chapter 11: The Great Valley Gang's New Recruit 

Littlefoot found his friends in a shady spot of the Tall Trees region of the Great Valley. This area was laid thick with towering trees that seemed to touch the sky and thick trunks that no axe could cut through using man-power. Spike and Cera were chasing each other round in a circle separated by a rock. They were going around so fast it was difficult to tell who was supposed to be catching whom. Ducky was sat on the rock between Cera and Spike and Petrie was sat on a low branch of a young tree, both of which were laughing so hard their stomachs ached. Littlefoot stopped on the edge of the spot where they were playing and waited for Jason to catch up. They both peered through the trees and Jason then turned to Littlefoot somewhat perplexed. He was at least expecting them to all be a similar breed of dinosaur to Littlefoot but what he saw were four completely randomly selected dinosaur children playing together. Littlefoot caught the bewildered look on Jason's face.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, no. It's just that I never expected your friends to be completely different breeds of dinosaur. I would have thought that you would be hanging around with dinosaurs a little more…similar?" Littlefoot looked at Jason a little offended but understood what he meant. Before any of them arrived in the Great Valley, they all thought the same way. Like dinosaurs travelled with like dinosaurs with no exceptions but Littlefoot remembered how each of them had helped each other to survive the hardships of what they now call the 'Mysterious Beyond' and the world outside of the Great Valley.

"I know it seems a little weird but I can assure you these are my best friends!" Jason looked at Littlefoot still a bit worried about mingling amongst dinosaurs. He could never even make friends with humans in school let alone with dinosaurs. He sighed deeply and nodded at Littlefoot agreeing to meet up with his friends. He felt nervous but Littlefoot had trusted him before so Jason felt it was his turn to return the favour.

Littlefoot jumped into the play scene and Jason cautiously followed.

"Hey guys!" Littlefoot chirped happily as he always did.

"Hi Littlefoot!" they all replied in unison except Spike who answered with his usual sighing sound as a greeting.

"Where did you go this morning?" Cera leapt in with the first question.

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Littlefoot whispered as a guarantee that she wouldn't spread the word.

"Yeah okay," Cera nodded eager to listen to his secret.

"Remember where I said I got my lucky, blue stone?"

"The Forest of Fear was it not?" Ducky responded now standing up.

"Yeah. I went back there early this morning to see if I could find anything."

"And…did you?" Cera asked in anticipation.

"Well…yes and no."

"Yes and no? What that mean?" Petrie asked baffled as he flew down from his perch to where Ducky was sat.

"Well, I didn't find anything about my dreams or the stone but…" Littlefoot then turned to see were Jason was, ready to introduce him. He wasn't behind him; in fact he had disappeared completely. Littlefoot was stunned. He walked around in a small circle trying to see if he had come from a different direction.

"Where did he go?" Littlefoot asked out loud to himself.

"Where did who go?" Cera was now swishing her head from side to side trying to find what Littlefoot was looking for, not knowing what "IT" was. Littlefoot started to think that Jason had gotten so nervous that he ran away. Just then, the group heard Spike yelp and leap rather clumsily over the boulder that Ducky and Petrie were sitting on. He tripped and rolled into Cera who crashed into a tree rattling it violently. In the panic, Petrie took off without knowing what had happened to hide up in the tree and Ducky screamed and ran to hide under Spike who was standing on his head on top of Cera. Once the four of them re-composed themselves, Cera yelled,

"What was that about Spike?" Spike stood shivering with his front feet over his eyes. They all turned to look where Spike had fled from to find something sticking out of the bush Spike obviously had been eating from. The group gasped as the bush rattled and shook as whatever it was tried to free itself. Suddenly, the thing moved and popped out from the shrub and waddled awkwardly as it tried to regain its balance. It then stood upright and turned to them with bits of shrubbery sticking out of its head.

"Jason!" Littlefoot exclaimed. Jason smiled uneasily having failed to befriend everyone in his first meeting and by the expressions on their faces, he had frightened them half to death. Littlefoot stood up proudly and announced,

"Everyone, this is Jason." Jason sniggered through his uneasy smile and raised his right hand and said with a nervous laugh,

"Err…hi?" The group was dumbstruck. They were looking at some bizarre creature that they had never seen that looked even more weird than that 'belly-dragger' and 'sharp-beak' in the Land of Mists when they travelled there with another friend, Ali, on one of their many adventures. Most astonishing of all was that it could talk. No one knew what to say and the silence was making Jason more and more nervous. His entry obviously was not a friendly one despite how friendly he meant for it to be. Littlefoot felt he had better step in to ease Jason's nerves.

"Guys! This is Jason. He's a…" Before Littlefoot could finish, Cera had made up her mind about Jason already and charged at him shouting,

"SHARPTOOTH!"

"WHAT?!" Jason yelled as he saw Cera rampaging towards him.

"Cera, NO!" Littlefoot pleaded, "he's not a…" It was too late. Cera was already close enough to ram into Jason. Littlefoot shut his eyes tight as he pictured Cera smashing Jason over and killing him instantly. Suddenly, Cera let out a scream. It sounded like a response to pain. There was also a heavy shuffling noise. Littlefoot opened his eyes again to find Cera knelt down in front of a wavering tree. Jason had leap-frogged her and passed over her as she hit the tree in her skid. Now Cera felt the rage of a threehorn surge through her. That creature had now made a fool of her in front of her friends and it was not going to get away with it. She pawed the ground and grunted as she prepared for another attack. She ignored Littlefoot's cries to stop and charged at Jason again. Petrie, Ducky and Spike could do nothing but watch in wonder at the amazing agility of the creature as it leapt around the area managing to lose Cera and throw her off. Cera showed no remorse as she gave chase. Jason ran round the rock in the centre of the clearing just inches from Cera's nose horn which flicked just behind him. Cera managed to run Jason into a corner where he stood with his back against a number of large trees with no way through. Cera's eyes burned with anger as she scratched the ground again ready to launch herself at him. Littlefoot and the others appeared around the corner as Cera leapt forward growling. Jason looked around desperately for an escape route as Cera closed in. He looked up and saw an overhanging branch. Just as Cera got close enough, Jason jumped up and caught the thin branch. Pulling his legs up, Cera could do nothing but fly into the tree and crash her head into it. Jason swung on the branch and landed awkwardly a few feet from Cera.

"Jason! LOOK OUT!" Littlefoot suddenly screamed.

Unaware, Jason suddenly whipped round to see Cera had quickly recovered and was charging at him again. Before Jason could respond to the attack, Cera's horn caught Jason in the side. The force behind Cera's attack knocked Jason flailing as he crashed to the ground and lay in a heap. Littlefoot gasped in horror but Cera was not finished. She continued her attack and hit Jason again picking him up from the floor. Jason flinched horribly in pain as he felt his body being tossed into the air. He flew for quite a while before crashing sideways into the trunk of a thick tree. After collapsing from rebounding off the tree, Jason tried to push himself from the ground but he was too weak. His arms buckled from under him and he lay unconscious on the ground. Cera snorted triumphantly and held her head up high.

"That'll teach that dumb sharptooth to mess with me!" Littlefoot was horrified to see Jason's body lying lifeless under the tree as leaves fell on him softly from the tremendous impact. He ran over to him to check if he was all right. Cera was confused why Littlefoot was so upset that she mangled the sharptooth so badly. She felt quite proud that she took on that sharptooth all by herself and beat him so harshly. Littlefoot scanned Jason over of some kind of lifeline hoping that Cera hadn't beaten him up too severely. He walked around to Jason's face and nudged his neck with his nose. Jason twitched a bit and shuffled as his consciousness returned gradually. Littlefoot beamed as Jason rose up to his heels and then sat down groaning in pain clutching the right side of his ribcage. The others looked at each other stunned at Littlefoot's behaviour as they watched him help the strange sharptooth to its feet and even propped him up to help it walk.

"Are you okay Jason?" Littlefoot asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, I'm just a little bruised up that's all," Jason smiled and looked at Littlefoot with one eye.

"I'm so sorry Cera attacked you like that. She's can be a bit…"

"Unpredictable," Jason said finishing Littlefoot's sentence.

"I was going to say stubborn but your word's a lot better." They smiled at each other as they slowly approached the rest of the gang.

Once Littlefoot helped Jason hobble to a spot were he could sit down, Littlefoot turned angrily to Cera.

"Why did you do that?! That was so out of order and unnecessary!"

"I thought he was a sharptooth! It did scare Spike didn't it!"

"Stop calling him 'it'! He's not a sharptooth! His name is…" Littlefoot was about to call Jason's name when Jason stood up and did it for him.

"Jason." All eyes turned and looked at the injured boy as he stood awkwardly clutching his right side just under his arm.

"My name is Jason. Nice to meet you all." The group was silence again. Despite his polite and more direct introduction, no one could greet him back. Littlefoot felt betrayed by his friends. They are not usually this defensive when someone new came to greet them. Jason could sense that he was not gaining any trust from them so he sighed finally and said,

"Well, it was nice seeing you all but I think I should take my leave…" With that, Jason turned and began to walk out of the woodland. Despite a heartfelt attempt to befriend Littlefoot's fellow companions, Jason felt that he would never be able to get them to have faith in him. As Jason reached the edge of the wood, he felt something wet his dangling hand. He turned around to find that the stegosaurus he had scared in the first place was licking his hand. It sighed and rubbed its head against him. Jason was amazed and quickly looked back at Littlefoot who was smiling. Littlefoot ran up to Jason and introduced the first of his friends.

"Jason, this is Spike."

"Hello Spike," Jason replied stroking his head gingerly with his unharmed left hand. Spike then leapt up and placed his feet on Jason's shoulders to lick his face. Jason stumbled and laughed as Spike's tongue slimily passed over him.

"Playful aren't you?" Jason suggested as Spike bobbed his head up and down in verification. He looked at Littlefoot, "doesn't he talk?"

"Nah. He's never been able to talk."

"He has said my name before, he has."

"Oh, and who are you?" Jason asked turning to a new face.

"I am Ducky. That is who I am yep, yep, yep!" Jason laughed and then noticed her hop onto Spike's back,

"You two seem pretty close."

"Oh yes! Spike is my little brother. We found him all alone but he came with us, he did! He is not a swimmer like me, oh no. But he is still a very good little brother."

"Well, I'm very glad to meet you Ducky and you too Spike!" As Jason finished his speech, Petrie flew in for his turn.

"Hi Jason. Me Petrie. Me flyer!" he croaked spreading his wings out to Jason to get a closer look. Jason gave an impressed nod so not to let Petrie's spirit become suppressed. He also couldn't help but notice Petrie's constant breaks in his sentence construction which gave him a distinct voice and method of expression but he still preferred Ducky's 'yep, yep, yep' and constant use of proper English without the use of slang or colloquial shortcuts. Finally, Jason turned to Cera who remained sulking at the back of the group.

"So who's the raging steam train!" Jason asked pointing at Cera with a headshake forgetting that none of them would know what a stream train is. Littlefoot answered his query seeing that Cera was not going to volunteer herself.

"That's Cera. She's a threehorn so she can be a bit moody now and again."

"I heard that!" Cera bellowed from the other side of the clearing as she slowly wandered into the crowd. Jason smiled happily to have finally been accepted into Littlefoot's little gang. He thanked them all and took a step back to view them all.

"Wow! Get a load of you guys! A brontosaurus, a triceratops, a saurolophus, a pteranodon and a stegosaurus all together. What a mix! You all look made for each other despite your great differences in appearance." The group all looked at each other perplexed. They were sure Jason had just complimented them all but the names he used sounded completely alien to them. Jason picked up on the peculiar looks he had just got and began to think that maybe he had offended them. Littlefoot then spoke out.

"Erm…what did you call us?" Jason then realised his mistake. He never thought that explaining everything a human would understand to a dinosaur would be so hard but he had to remember that they would not understand everything he would say even if it seemed so natural to him. Jason then pointed to them one at a time saying their scientific names to each of them.

"Brontosaurus…Triceratops…Saurolophus…Stegosaurus…Pteranodon. That's what my kind call you all. Those are your scientific names."

"Really?" Littlefoot exclaimed in amazement at his scientific name, "we all have different names for our type of dinosaur?"

"Of course." The group began to chatter with excitement. Jason then added, "So what do you all call your types normally then?"

"I'm a longneck, Cera's a threehorn…"

"Me a flyer!" said Petrie as he took off in the air.

"I am a swimmer and Spike is a spiketail!"

"Oh! I see," Jason giggled at their clever logic, "well, that makes sense."

"So just what exactly are you?" asked Cera as if she were interviewing him.

"I'm a human being. My kind exist millions of years after the reign of the dinosaurs."

"He's from the future!" Littlefoot added as the others 'wooed' in astonishment.

"You really from the future Jason?" Jason nodded as Petrie gasped in even more amazement.

"How did you get here?" Ducky asked a new question.

"I'm not entirely sure but I think it had something to do with a blue time-door I must have passed through from my time period and ended up in yours." Jason replied to the best of his knowledge and soon found himself explaining about how he was chased by men with weapons and how he stumbled into the time door from his time. Their expressions twisted in confusion and wonder, as Jason then had to explain about the world of the humans and how they did not rely on claws or teeth for defence. Instead, using their intelligence and ability to construct complex tools and items, humans defend themselves using weapons they created. The explanation was lengthy but the gang seems to catch on.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jason spent his time answering questions about the human race and life in the future. It was like a fantasy story becoming real to the young dinosaurs as this mysterious creature told them all about his life and how humans lived sixty-five million years in the future. As evening drew close, the loud rumbling of stomachs embarrassingly broke the conversation as Jason and his new friends went off in search of food. Once Littlefoot and the others had stopped to pull leaves of the trees to eat, Jason slipped his bag off and began rummaging for the supplies he had packed. Littlefoot looked curiously at what Jason was eating. He was chewing on a brown, sticky substance wrapped in a crackling sheath.

"What's that stuff you're eating?" Littlefoot asked almost disgusted as he swallowed a mouthful of leaves.

"This is man-made food. It's called chocolate. Humans make it and sell it to…" he then stopped realising that dinosaurs would not understand the concept of money and buying things. He just nodded and held his chocolate bar up to Littlefoot from his seat on the rock Ducky and Petrie had been on before. Littlefoot sniffed it cautiously as the sweet smell flowed up his nostrils but also confused his brain as he had never smelled such a scent before.

"Go ahead. You can have it. I have plenty more," Jason encouraged as he peeled more of the wrapping back. Littlefoot licked the brown substance warily. Its sweet, sticky texture spread onto his tongue and tingled strangely. Extraordinarily enough, Littlefoot found the taste extremely satisfying as well as intriguing. Jason pushed the bar closer to Littlefoot's mouth persuading him to take a bigger sample. Littlefoot placed his teeth gingerly on the bar and snapped a small chunk off. He chewed it and found it clinging to every surface of his mouth. He washed the inside of his mouth with his tongue and swallowed. Littlefoot was delighted with the taste and was happy to take the rest of the bar from Jason's hand.

"Do you like it?" Jason asked despite knowing the answer to his own question. Littlefoot hummed happily as he devoured the rest of the chocolate bar and the wrapper too. Jason had to leap forward and pull the wrapper out of Littlefoot's mouth before he swallowed it and choked.

Jason laughed, "You're not supposed to eat the wrapper as well!"

"Why not?" Littlefoot asked as he licked his lips to remove the melted chocolate from around them and the end of his nose.

"This stuff is not edible. It's there to protect the chocolate bar inside so it doesn't get damaged. I take it you enjoyed it though." Littlefoot nodded gleefully.

"Well. I suppose I could let you have one more but you can't have too many or they'll make you sick." Littlefoot nodded paying only partial attention to Jason's warning. Jason took another chocolate bar from his bag and peeled the wrapper off completely so Littlefoot didn't swallow it again. He gave the bar to Littlefoot who then put it back on his lap.

"Do you think you could share it out amongst me and my friends?"

"Sure," Jason agreed highly impressed with Littlefoot's kindness and unselfishness. He broke the bar into five similarly sized blocks and Littlefoot called his friends over to try it. It was an instant success. All five dinosaurs thoroughly enjoyed their little trial of human chocolate and even asked for more. Jason wanted to refuse but he was still desperate to make a good impression so he gave them all another one each.

As the evening sky gradually grew darker and the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountainous region behind the Great Valley, Littlefoot, Jason, Cera, Petrie, Ducky and Spike played in the nearby fields and also learned more about Jason's lifestyle as a human. Jason also learned a few terminologies used by dinosaurs to describe what was around them. Jason quickly learned about the Bright Circle being the sun, the Great Night Circle was the moon, the Great Wall that protects the Valley from carnivorous dinosaurs, which were called sharpteeth, and were feared by all leaf-eaters. These facts then led Littlefoot and his friends to talk about some of their past adventures such as meeting Chomper the friendly sharptooth, Ali the migrating longneck and Doc the legendary lone dinosaur. Night quickly crept up on the six of them as they got so involved in telling each other stories of their adventures and close shaves with potential deaths. As the gang were getting more and more excited, they all groaned on hearing their folks calling them one by one to get ready for bed. The group slowly dispersed as Littlefoot and Jason found themselves alone in the darkened field. Littlefoot then heard his grandfather calling his name from a distance. He was about to leave when he turned to Jason who sat quietly by himself in the field. Jason smiled at Littlefoot sweetly and simply said,

"Goodnight Littlefoot. Sleep well."

Littlefoot felt something twitch inside. He couldn't leave Jason alone in the field, it wouldn't be fair. He looked sorrowfully at Jason so sat in the grass gazing up at the stars in the night sky that twinkled like rare crystals on a rich, deep blue blanket. Littlefoot felt he should take him home with him but he didn't know if his grandparents would want Jason sleeping with them. Littlefoot heard his grandfather call him again. He had no choice but to leave Jason where he was. He smiled at Jason and headed for home.

Jason laid down on his back still staring up at the stars. What an incredible day. Jason had never had so much happen to him in just a day. His new found friends had really been impressed with him and they had even left an impression on him; literally in the case of Cera. His ribs ached as he put pressure on them as he remembered how Cera had barged him and tossed him like a limp rag doll into that sturdy tree. A few minutes had passed before Jason heard the sound of soft footsteps heading towards him. He sat up and looked across the field to see the shadow of a small quadruped coming his way. Its feet drummed on the ground as it ran which sounded distinctly familiar to Jason for some reason. As the quadruped came into view, Jason's face lit up to find that it was Littlefoot.

"C'mon. This way," Littlefoot pointed with his head to where he had just ran from.

Littlefoot and Jason walked back across through the wavering grass of the field together as the night began to buzz with nocturnal life.

"Why did you come back for me?" Jason asked.

"I couldn't leave you out in that field. You'll be all alone and that's unfair." Jason smiled warmly at Littlefoot's kind offer. His generosity was incomparable to any other person Jason had ever met besides his own mother. As they slowly wandered back to Littlefoot's home ground, Jason found Littlefoot's grandfather waiting for them. Jason could not thank him enough for allowing him to stay with them for the night. Littlefoot yawned robbing the air in front of Jason of oxygen which made him yawn too. Littlefoot crawled and circled his little sleeping spot and tucked himself in. He looked up at Jason who had decided to sleep in a small, sturdy tree that seemed to be petrified as it did not bear any leaves or buds. Its branches forked out from the centre and made a cosy, natural enclosure for Jason to rest in. Littlefoot looked up as his grandfather bent down to wish him a good night's sleep. Brushing their heads together, Littlefoot wished the same to his grandfather. Once he had settled down, Littlefoot then turned back to Jason to wish him a good night. Jason stretched over his tree that stood overhanging Littlefoot's little pit and wished him a similarly peaceful night's rest before they both tucked their heads into their bodies and fell fast asleep.


	4. Part 3: The Trials of Heroism

Chapter 12: Disaster at the Thundering Falls 

            Stretching and reaching up, Littlefoot yawned as a new day greeted him with a warm ray of light giving him a toasty feeling on his skin. His grandparents were already up as usual but Littlefoot turned to Jason to find he was still asleep. Littlefoot felt great and for a strange reason, he didn't have another haunting nightmare last night. This puzzled Littlefoot as his nightmares had suddenly stopped as soon as Jason was present with him. Strangely, having Jason by his side at night felt like a grand omen that banished bad thoughts and nightmares away. Littlefoot took another look up at Jason as he turned over to face the other way. He smirked and wondered how much longer he was going to sleep for. He decided not to disturb him as he walked over to his grandparents to greet them.

"Morning Grandma, morning Grandpa!" Littlefoot called as he came into view.

"Good morning Littlefoot," his grandfather replied, "did you sleep well?"

"Oh yes Grandpa. Much better than I have been recently. I didn't have those bad dreams last night."

"Really?" his grandmother asked him happy that Littlefoot had managed to get a decent night's rest, "why do you think that it is Littlefoot?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it had something to do with Jason…" Littlefoot admitted.

"That's nice dear. So where is Jason?" his grandmother asked.

"Still asleep I think," Littlefoot giggled, "maybe humans don't get up very early."

"Well, when he gets up, you and Jason can take a trip down to the Thundering Falls. Grandma and I will be there today."

"Okay Grandpa! We'll see you down there." With that, Littlefoot rushed back to his sleeping spot to see if Jason was awake yet. As a surprise to Littlefoot, Jason was still asleep. He didn't want to disturb Jason but Littlefoot wanted him to wake up so they could play down by the Thundering Falls. Littlefoot began to get impatient as Jason didn't move and wasn't showing any signs of waking up soon. He started to nudge the tree softly to try and wake him up. Jason didn't respond so Littlefoot knocked the tree a little harder. The slight tremors shivered up the tree and tingled Jason's legs as he groaned and turned over again, still asleep. Littlefoot was getting agitated as he now started ramming the tree to get Jason to wake up. The massive shakes rattled the tree as Jason jumped up with a start. He looked around in a panic to see what was shaking him as he looked down and saw Littlefoot beaming up at him.

"Good morning!" Littlefoot called up to him. Jason looked around with his eyes half open in a daze. He yawned and stretched before looking down at Littlefoot who still had his friendly smile pasted across his face.

"What time is it?" Jason asked drearily rubbing his eyes.

"The Bright Circle is just coming up over the Smoking Mountain."

"What!" Jason exclaimed, "you mean the sun has only just risen!" Jason flopped back down into his tree and closed his eyes again. Littlefoot looked surprised at Jason. Sunrise was the normal time he got up so why was Jason so upset? He began rattling the tree again trying to get Jason to come down.

"Come on Jason! Why won't you get up?"

"Because it's too early! Wake me up in a few more hours." Jason turned and tried to get back to sleep.

"Too early?!" Littlefoot asked himself puzzled, "the Bright Circle is nearly up and Jason wants to sleep for a few more hours? Gosh! He sleeps more than Spike does!" Littlefoot gazed up at Jason again to see if he might change his mind. When he couldn't get Jason to look at him, he shook the tree again.

"C'mon Jason! Are you going to sleep all day? We're supposed to be going to the Thundering Falls soon. Don't you want to come and see it?" Jason rolled and groaned as he locked eyes with Littlefoot who was remarkably bouncy at what Jason considered to be a very early hour.

"It's just so early though," Jason complained as he yawned again, "can't we go later?"

"If we go later no one will be there! How come you still wanna sleep?"

"Humans don't function too well early in the morning," Jason groaned but smiled at the same time, "I need a little more sleep."

"But what about the Thundering Falls?" Littlefoot protested.

"I'll meet you down there in a few minutes, I promise. Just let me sleep a little longer…"

"You sure? You promise?" Littlefoot wanted Jason to swear he'd be there.

"Yeah, I promise. I'll be there in a little while. You go on ahead."

"Okay," Littlefoot sighed in defeat realising that nagging Jason anymore would not help. He trotted off towards his grandparents' feeding spot to join them but kept wondering how humans can sleep for so long.

            Despite that Jason didn't go with him, Littlefoot decided that he would go down to the Thundering Falls by himself. Whilst him and his grandparents were eating, Littlefoot overheard some other dinosaur herds talking about a strange two-legged creature roaming the Great Valley. Rumours about Jason's arrival had started to spread but Littlefoot just smiled as he knew perfectly well about the rumours as he was the one who met Jason in the first place and introduced him to the Great Valley and his friends. As he reached the Thundering Falls, he saw Ducky and Spike and their family bathing at the far end of a deep pool the waterfall made before trailing off deep into the Valley as the Great Valley's main waterway. Ducky was diving in amongst her brothers and sisters swimming gracefully under the water; as it was her nature. Littlefoot jumped into the water and paddled over to Spike who sat on the bank eating some ferns that grew there. Ducky popped her head up from underwater and waved at Littlefoot as he swam over to her. Littlefoot greeted Ducky and her mother as Spike jumped in paddled rather inelegantly over to Littlefoot to greet him as well. Ducky's mother turned to Littlefoot.

"So, Ducky's been telling me that you have something to do with the strange two-legged creature everyone's been talking about."

"Yeah. His name is Jason and he's a human. He's from the future!"

"Really? Quite remarkable!" Ducky's mother said greatly impressed, "so where is he then?"

"He's still asleep. He said humans don't work very well early in the morning," Littlefoot explained and laughed.

"I'd say he's just being lazy," Ducky's mother joked as they all chuckled. In midst their laughter, a great splash was heard from behind them. Cera had come to join them with her father who stood proud and tall as Dinah and Dana scurried between his legs before leaping into the cool waters.

"So, where's your new friend?" Cera asked almost taunting Littlefoot.

"He's still asleep," Littlefoot barked back in offence picking up on Cera's coarse tone of voice, "he'll be here soon. He said he was coming." Cera snorted.

"Ha! I wouldn't count on that happening any time soon. I still don't trust the guy even if he says he's not a sharptooth." Littlefoot wrinkled his face offended. Cera had done nothing but tease him about Jason since he arrived the other day.

"He IS coming Cera! You just wait and see."

"How can he come? I bet he doesn't even know the way here!" Cera boasted knowing that she had caught Littlefoot out. Littlefoot wanted to retaliate but he knew Cera was right. Jason wouldn't know how to get to the Thundering Falls because he hadn't shown him the way. He cursed himself for allowing Cera to get away with such an easy countermeasure but then said,

"Maybe he doesn't but he will come! He promised he would!"

"And you believed him? Ha!" Cera snorted again, "he won't come. He probably just said that to get you to go away and let him sleep. Never trust a creature other than a leaf-eater I always say!" Littlefoot was angry at Cera's ignorance but felt crushed as well. Jason may not have been a dinosaur but he trusted him like a friend. There was something about him that emitted a faithful and dependable sign that Jason could be trusted but Littlefoot couldn't place what it was. Littlefoot felt lost but his spirits shot up when he heard a faintly familiar voice from the thicket that shaded the natural swimming pool.

"Man! You guys really know how to make a ruckus!" Littlefoot whirled around to find Jason standing on the path through the trees.

"Jason! You made it!" he exclaimed overjoyed.

"Oh yeah! Sorry I took so long…I got a little lost at first but then I heard your voice coming from the other side of these trees. And hers of course." He nodded at Cera who was grunting at him for managing to find his way and disproving her theory on all non leaf-eating creatures being untrustworthy. Jason took a good look around at the waterfall and the beautiful little enclosure it was in, surrounded by exotic, prehistoric flowers and bordered by bushy, green trees.

"Pretty nice place," Jason nodded impressed. Then he realised that everyone else besides Littlefoot's group were staring at him in astonishment. Jason suddenly felt very self-conscious seeing so many eyes glaring at him like a caged animal at the zoo. He slowly walked to the water's edge and Littlefoot paddled over to him. He crawled up the bank and shook the water off getting Jason with the wet shrapnel. Jason giggled and shielded himself with his arm as the others came to greet him. Just as the group merged to talk to Jason, Petrie and his mother flew in followed closely by Littlefoot's grandparents. Even Dinah and Dana were curious enough to get close to Jason to find out more about him. Jason bent down to talk to them.

"Hello there," he called to them, "and who might you two cuties be?"

"Us-ie Dinah, Dana!" Dinah exclaimed.

"Us-ie three-be horna's!" Dana added.

"A-hiya!" they both then called out together in baby talk. Jason raised one eyebrow curiously and then laughed.

"They're baby threehorns so they can't quite talk yet," Littlefoot added after Dinah and Dana's little dialogue.

"I know. I understood what they said," Jason said calmly to Littlefoot.

"You understand what the twins are saying?" Cera then asked intrigued, forgetting her grudge she had had on him.

"Oh yeah! Baby talk is just a simple break down of a child's native language. These two cute, little threehorns just introduced themselves rather politely to me."

"So what they say?" Petrie asked not understanding a word the twins nor Jason had said.

"They said 'we are Dinah and Dana, we are threehorns, hello!'" Jason repeated what the young triceratops twins had said who were now dancing around in circles conforming Jason's translation was correct. The group was stunned as were a few of the adults who were listening in to the children's conversation. Jason smiled and broke the silence but shouting, "Right, who's ready for a swim?" The group, including Cera, cheered and all ran to the pool taking the biggest leaps they could manage. The adults around the edge smiled at Jason which made him feel welcome and wanted. Ducky climbed onto a nearby rock to dive majestically in when she turned to Jason and suddenly shrieked in terror. Everyone in the area instantly turned to Ducky who had turned pale with shock and pointed at Jason.

"Ducky!" her mother called, "whatever is the matter dear?"

"J-J…J-Jason is t-taking his skin off! He is!" she shrieked as all eyes turned to Jason as he struggled with his white t-shirt to get it over his head. Everyone gasped in astonishment as Jason tugged his head out from the neck of his shirt and turned to see everyone staring at him. Jason looked at the horrified expressions on everyone's faces as Littlefoot crawled up the bank to get a closer look at Jason's transformed body. Jason felt claustrophobic as Littlefoot circled him and the glaring eyes remained fixed on him.

"What did I do?" Jason whispered to Littlefoot as he looked him up and down.

"Didn't that hurt? How'd you take your skin off like that?" Littlefoot asked amazed as if he were immune to mortal pain.

"Wha…?" Jason shrilled in an unusually high voice, "take my WHAT off!"

"Your skin?" Littlefoot glanced at Jason's black hooded sweater with a coiled silver dragon on it and his white t-shirt. Jason followed his gaze and the laughed so loud it almost sounded insane.

"That's not my skin! That's my clothes."

"Your clothes?"

"Yeah. Humans aren't too good at retaining body heat so we wear clothes to keep us warm. It's all right for dinosaurs because of the way their bodies are composed. They're used to it. Humans are not as well adapted so we were clothes. They're not really supposed to get wet unless you're washing them," Jason gave a little spin with his arms out to the sides showing his actual skin, "this is my real skin and I can assure you that it doesn't come off!" Littlefoot looked bewildered at this new custom and smiled. Jason silently breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure that had built up in a split second slowly dissolved and everyone was happily chatting to each other again. Just before he re-entered the water, Littlefoot gave one last glance at Jason who was smiling back at him. He smiled in return but noticed a strange object around his neck. It looked like a bright, glistening vine that wrapped itself loosely around him. On the end of the glistening vine was a blood, red stone that hovered over Jason's bare chest. This object reminded him of something Littlefoot thought he had seen before but as Jason jumped into the water, the thought vanished and he quickly followed him.

            For the entire morning and the best part of the afternoon, Jason, Littlefoot and their friends splashed around under the raging water that flowed down from the Thundering Falls above. Littlefoot, Spike and Cera had started a water fight and slapped the water surface hard with their tails trying to blind each other. Jason, Ducky and the threehorn twins were jumping off the high rock into the pool trying as many different variations as they could. Petrie sat judging the dives for difficulty. Jason leapt off the rock after a short sprint up it. He majestically somersaulted and kicked to twist out before landing with a mighty splash that knocked Petrie off his perch. The adults on the sideline gasped in amazement and cheered at Jason as his head broke through the water's surface. Jason scratched the back of his head a little embarrassed but accepted the applause. Suddenly, everyone got out of the water to try their luck at the high dive as one by one they all leaped off the rock spinning and twisting in as many different ways they could think of but Jason's impressive flips and somersaults stole the show as the adults sat by the bank watching and cheering the children on. Ducky managed to copy Jason's front somersault with a half twist out but the quadrupeds just leapt and spun around like rotor blades and landed heavily throwing water everywhere.

            Littlefoot attempted a dive head first as he leapt up high off the rock and plunged unsteadily, head first into the water. Jason clapped in amazement as Littlefoot managed to pull himself into such a difficult position for a four-legged dinosaur. Cera was up next but she was waiting for Littlefoot to move out the way so she didn't land on him. Cera began to get impatient as Littlefoot was not seen paddling to the side to rejoin the line for another go. Jason looked a little worried and walked beside the rock to see if he was perhaps hiding underneath the overhang. He wasn't there. Littlefoot's grandfather looked at Jason from across the stream but Jason just shrugged and walked back to line up again. A few tense moments had passed and there still was no sign of Littlefoot. He couldn't have possibly gotten out of the water without someone seeing him. Jason began to feel anxious as he signalled for Ducky to take her turn instead of Cera. Ducky jumped in with a graceful full twisting front somersault Jason had shown her earlier but it was quite sometime before she resurfaced. When she finally came back up, Ducky splashed around frantically.

"Help! Littlefoot needs help! He does!" The adults stood up urgently as the rest of the gang ran to Ducky.

"What's happened Ducky? Where's Littlefoot?" Jason cried in panic.

"Littlefoot is stuck at the bottom, he is! He cannot get back up he cannot!" she reported.

"Littlefoot!" his grandmother cried from the other side as Littlefoot's grandfather started to walk into the water.

"Wait!" Jason called out to the mighty longneck.

"What is it Jason?" he replied in desperation.

"You can't walk in the water! You might crush him!" Jason protested.

"What should we do?" Cera's father wailed from the bank. Just as he had finished his sentence, everyone turned to see Jason run back to the rock and dive down into the water. As the bubbles cleared from his vision, Jason looked around to find Littlefoot struggling at the bottom of the deep pool under the waterfall. His feet had been tangled in waterweeds as Littlefoot squirmed hopelessly. Littlefoot suddenly looked up and stared into Jason's eyes pleading for help. In his gaze, the sunlight that dove down into the water hit Jason's stone and it shone so brightly, it appeared to be glowing. Jason broke his eye contact with Littlefoot as he started tugging at the weeds but they were rooted so firmly into the riverbed that he found he couldn't pull him out. Jason looked up at Littlefoot as he saw his eyes starting to roll back into his head. He was losing air and consciousness. Jason swam back up to the surface and paddled madly to his bag. Littlefoot's grandparents looked after him in despair.

"Jason, please tell us, what is going on down there?" Littlefoot's grandfather cried.

"Littlefoot's tangled in some waterweeds. I can't pull him out so…"

"What?" everyone called in desperation thinking that Jason had a plan. Jason didn't answer. He rummaged frantically in his bag and then pulled out a small penknife. He stuffed it into his pocket and jumped back in ignoring everyone's cries for answers. Jason dived down to Littlefoot who was now unconscious and floating limply in the water current. Jason knew he didn't have much time. Taking the penknife from his pocket he flicked the blade out and began slicing through the weeds that tied Littlefoot's feet to the river's floor. Jason could begin to feel a nasty twitch in his chest signalling that his own air supply was gradually running out. As Jason cut through the final weed, he flicked the blade back down and placed it back into his pocket. He then took Littlefoot under his forelegs and paddled awkwardly up to the surface. The twitching gradually transformed into a burning as Jason's lungs cried for air.

            Up on the surface, there was a tense silence. Everyone looked at everyone else in despair, fearing the worse. Just when they thought all was lost, the water surface shattered as Jason gasped for air and towed a motionless Littlefoot to the riverbank. Everyone was happy to see Jason was safe but they also feared for Littlefoot's life as he lay lifeless on the sandy bank.

"Is he…?" Cera began but was silenced by Jason's snappy movements over Littlefoot's body. Jason placed his ear over Littlefoot's mouth but heard nothing. Rolling him onto his back, he then laid his head on Littlefoot's chest to try and make out a heartbeat. He could hear a throbbing but he was unsure if it was his own heart pounding in his head from the adrenaline rush. He was too jittery to try and find Littlefoot's pulse and he had never attempted to find a major artery of another creature besides a human despite how long his neck was. He suddenly turned to Cera and started barking orders.

"Cera! Pass me my bag over there! QUICKLY!" Even though Cera didn't know what a 'bag' was, she ran over to the strange, brown sack and pulled it over to Jason. Jason, immediately, got out his medical kit, pulled out his stethoscope and placed the diaphragm on Littlefoot's chest. He heard nothing.

"Damn it!" Jason cursed as he threw the stethoscope to the side and started pushing down forcefully on Littlefoot's sternum. The group of dinosaurs looked over Jason confused yet terrified but they felt Jason knew what he was doing. They heard Jason count loudly as he pushed on Littlefoot's chest. He then moved to Littlefoot's mouth as he tried desperately to resuscitate him. Jason could hear the air escaping through Littlefoot's nostrils but couldn't reach them as his hands were full holding his mouth open. He turned to the horrified audience.

"Ducky! Petrie! Come here quickly! I need your help!" he ordered. The two of them jumped in surprise but quickly ran over to Jason on command. Jason nodded with his head over to Littlefoot's forehead.

"You need to block Littlefoot's nostrils with your hands!" Ducky and Petrie looked at each other perplexed.

"Why?" they both then asked.

"No time to explain. Just do it!" Knowing that Littlefoot's life was on the line they agreed and held their hands over Littlefoot's nostrils as tightly as they could. Jason inhaled deeply and breathed into Littlefoot. His torso rose and fell in response but he did not start breathing himself. Jason repeated the process again and then returned to the chest compressions.

"Come on Littlefoot!" Jason begged, "dammit! Don't you DARE die on me now!"

Jason switched between Littlefoot's mouth and chest trying desperately to bring him back to life. Jason was now becoming anxious as Littlefoot failed to response to his resuscitation.

"Come on Littlefoot! One more time!" Jason swore to himself as he felt his chances fading away. He breathed into Littlefoot twice more and then hit his chest hard trying desperately to get his heart to restart. On Jason's sixth push, Littlefoot lurched horribly and coughed. Jason's face lit up as Littlefoot began choking and water flowed from his mouth.

"Yes, Littlefoot! That's it! Cough it all up!" he urged. Ducky and Petrie backed away as Littlefoot's coughs became louder. Jason gave Littlefoot's chest on last push and then sat back on his heels. Littlefoot heaved and sat up as the last of the water that flooded his lungs flowed out. He sat still gasping for air as he slowly looked around. Jason sighed triumphantly as Littlefoot panted and stared at everyone who were all jumping for joy and hugging each other (those who could).

"Wha…what happened?" Littlefoot asked totally disorientated. No one answered him but he received cheers and hugs from his friends and family.

"You okay! Me get so worried!" Petrie exclaimed.

"You are fine now. Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chattered eagerly.

"I'm so glad you're all right," Cera sighed relieved. Spike licked Littlefoot's face as he still found himself incredibly dizzy.

"I don't feel so good…" Littlefoot warned as his head throbbed.

"That's probably because you brought all that water up out of yourself," Jason stated picking up his stethoscope he tossed away earlier, "good thing I packed this." He held up his small med kit in one hand rattling it. Littlefoot was still confused.

"Can someone tell me what just happened?"

"Jason saved your life Littlefoot," his grandmother said calmly as he bent down to comfort him.

"How did you do it?" Cera's father turned to Jason.

"It's a technique humans have developed to well… bring people back to life I suppose," Jason explained knowing that it wasn't as simple as he had said it was but it was the best way to describe it without being too technical, "humans have been using it for hundreds of years."

"Amazing. Simply amazing!" Littlefoot's grandfather called as he bent down to Jason, "thank you Jason. Thank you for bring our Littlefoot back to us." Jason shrugged shyly and simply said in amongst a smile,

"You're welcome."

            Jason turned to Littlefoot and press his stethoscope on his chest one last time. 

"Your breathing's okay but you've got a slightly irregular heart rhythm due to the shock," Jason diagnosed him as a patient in a doctor's surgery, "you should be fine by tomorrow. A good night's rest is all you need." With that, Jason packed his bag whilst Littlefoot was helped to his feet and lifted onto his grandfather's back as they transported him back to their home.

            On the way, Littlefoot's grandfather turned to Jason who was walking beside him. Littlefoot had fallen asleep on his back from exhaustion.

"Will he be all right do you think?" Littlefoot's grandmother asked Jason.

"Yeah. The shock of it all's probably made him tired but he should make a full recovery by tomorrow," Jason stated.

"We want to thank you again Jason for saving Littlefoot," Littlefoot's grandfather added, "if we had lost him, we wouldn't know what to do."

"Really Mr. Longneck it's perfectly fine. I'm just glad I could help," Jason replied.

"Smart and modest," Littlefoot's grandmother smiled impressed, "you are such a nice boy Jason."

"Why thank you Mrs. Longneck," Jason said shyly. He then looked at the meadow were he planned to spend the night last night and began to turn towards the rock he was sitting on yesterday.

"Jason," Littlefoot's grandfather called after him.

"Yes Mr. Longneck?"

"Where do you think you are going? You're not planning on sleeping there are you?" Jason shrugged as that was his plan exactly.

"But where else can I go?"

"Wouldn't you like to come home with us?" Littlefoot's grandmother asked.

"Really? You mean it?" Jason had to make sure the offer was genuine.

"Of course. You saved our only child. It is the least we could do," Littlefoot's grandfather added.

"Well, gee, thanks Mr. And Mrs. Longneck!" Jason called out in amazement , "I don't know what to say?"

"Just say you will stay," Littlefoot's grandmother said softly, "I think Littlefoot needs you to be with him."

"And another thing. You can stop calling us by such formal names. You can call us Grandma and Grandpa since you'll be living with us for a while," Littlefoot's grandfather proclaimed welcoming him into their herd.

Jason was honoured. This tiny herd had chosen him to be part of their family. Jason was overwhelmed as he had finally established a family after seven long years of being alone.

"Thank you. Grandma…Grandpa!" Jason said. The names made him tingle pleasantly inside.

"You're welcome, son," Grandpa replied lovingly as they slowly strolled towards their home.

Chapter 13: The Moment of Truth 

            In the first few days since his arrival to the Great Valley, there have been many rumours and numerous discussions about Jason; a lot of them very cynical. Despite his brave rescue that saved Littlefoot from a watery fate, most of the other Great Valley dinosaurs did not trust Jason living amongst them. Those who see Jason tend to mumble behind his back and debate over him rather unpleasantly. Others have even spoken to Littlefoot and his grandparents about fostering such a bizarre creature that gives outlandish remarks about apparently being from the future. Regardless of the nasty comments made about him, Jason couldn't care less. He was in a family who cared for him, he had friends whom he could socialise with and his new foster grandparents supported him as if he were their own. For the first time in quite a while, Jason felt loved. Littlefoot was pleased to have a faithful companion with him since all his other friends had brothers and sisters but he didn't. Littlefoot also felt more secure at night and the nightmares hadn't returned since Jason found his new bed in the petrified tree just above his sleeping place. He had heard all about Jason's daring rescue to save him from waterweeds and how his magical technique had brought him back to life when all hope seemed lost. Strangely, as the story was explained to him, it all sounded familiar for some peculiar reason, like it had all happened once before. Littlefoot couldn't remember much from the incident but Jason explained that it was liable to be amnesia from the shock of it all and it was all quite normal. The one thing that Littlefoot was interested in even more was Jason's stone that was encased in his funny-looking gold vine around his neck. It looked almost identical in size and shape to his blue one except it was red.

            Jason was well aware of the distrustful statements other Great Valley inhabitants have been spreading about him but as long as he had Littlefoot by his side, nothing mattered. Still, he was determined to prove to the dinosaurs that he was trustworthy enough for them to accept him and so he could find residence within their homeland until he could find a way of returning to his own time; if that was at all possible. All he needed was a chance to deem himself worthy of their trust and then they'd see. Jason found himself, for the past few nights, sitting in his tree talking to Littlefoot and his friends about the human world and how different it was to the dinosaur one. The most interesting statement of all that Jason had made to describe the difference was, "It's like two worlds but only on one planet." Jason told his little audience everything about humans right from the scientific hypothesis of the creation of planet Earth and the galaxy with the Big Bang theory to the cities and towns that they built to establish their own way of life and well-being. Jason found it weird having to describe everything he found completely normal to creatures that lived by the most simplest of rules but he found it strangely enjoyable nonetheless. Everything in Jason's backpack was a new mystery from his torch to his mother's books on botany and chemical synthesis to formulate medicines and elixirs.

"Oh! What's this thingy do?" Littlefoot prodded with his nose knocking over his medical kit, spilling its contents all over the place.

"Careful!" Jason warned trying to keep up with all his friends poking and prodding everything, "that's my medi-kit. Special humans called doctors use them to check how healthy someone is."

"Really? That amazing," Petrie gawked. Littlefoot picked up a long, cylindrical piece with a strange point in his mouth and mumbled,

"What's this thing do?"

"That's for looking in your ears. A doctor can check for any ear infections if you have a sore ear," Jason stated like he was reading it out of a text book. He took it from Littlefoot's mouth and placed it back in his medical box along with a pack of plasters and bandages.

"Hey! What's this?" Cera asked picking up a black sheet of plastic with a strange white outline on it, "it looks kinda ghostly."

"Ah! That's my X-ray a doctor took of me. An X-ray's a machine that takes a picture of your bones." Everyone wooed in amazement.

"Is this a picture of your bones Jason?" Littlefoot asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Jason said scoring his finger across the shoulder bones, "see that crack? That's where I broke my collarbone when I fell out of a tree." Everyone's expression then switched to cringes of pain.

"Did it hurt? To break one of your bones I mean," Littlefoot asked with his face all pursed up like he had eaten something sour.

"Surprisingly no!" Jason stated rather boldly, "breaking bones don't actually hurt but if they go through your skin, then it hurts." Jason laughed at the horrified response he got from his friends as he placed his old X-ray back into his case. He then turned to Ducky who had found something else.

"I saw you us this on Littlefoot the other day. Yep, yep, yep," Ducky yapped as she hauled the object over to Jason almost tripping over its long tubes.

"Ah, yes. This is my stethoscope."

"A what-o-scope?" Cera asked perplexed as she checked to see if anyone else was confused. Sure enough, they all were.

"A stethoscope."

"What does it do?" Littlefoot asked intrigued not knowing that Jason had used it on him already.

"Doctors use it to listen to your chest to check that your heart and lungs are working properly. Here, I'll show you." He placed the earpieces in his ears and placed the chest-piece on Littlefoot, "See?" Everyone was astounded.

"Here, Littlefoot. You listen." Jason placed the earpieces in Littlefoot's ears for him to listen. Littlefoot was amazed to hear his own heartbeat crystal clear through Jason's strange instrument.

"That's great!" Littlefoot exclaimed, "it really works!" Jason was pleased that he was able to entertain everyone with items he had used countless times as he passed the stethoscope round the group from one dinosaur to the next so everyone had a turn. The group pounced on Jason as he put it away eager for more knowledge on how humans lived when calls from through the Valley could be heard. Everyone broke up for breakfast as Littlefoot was still questioning Jason about his medical equipment and how he used it on him he nearly drowned. Jason laughed as Littlefoot buzzed around him in excitement keen to learn more.

"Morning Grandma. Morning Grandpa!" they both yelled in unison as they approached the green where they were feeding. Littlefoot hopped to the nearest tree and started to eat and Jason raided his bag for leftovers. As Littlefoot took his first bite, he looked around at Jason who was searching in his bag in desperation. He swallowed his mouthful and walked over to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked him gently.

"I've just used up most of my food. I practically got nothing left," Jason moaned. Littlefoot walked over to the tree he was eating from and pulled a star-shaped leaf from the tree and held it in front of Jason's upset face. Jason looked at it peculiarly and took it from in between Littlefoot's teeth. He then looked up at Littlefoot who was beaming.

"Try it! It's a treestar!" Littlefoot urged.

"I can't eat this! Humans don't eat leaves off trees I'm afraid," Jason said rather disgusted as he dangled it away from him between two fingers.

"Come on Jason. You said you had no food left. You have to eat something…" Littlefoot pleaded. Jason screwed up his face at the leaf but felt his stomach gurgling at the same time. He was hungry but somehow, a leaf shaped like a star didn't seem very appetising.

"I dunno Littlefoot…" Jason said hesitantly, "I've never eaten a leaf before…"

"You'll like it! Just give it a try. You got me to try your chocolate so you can try my treestar." Jason swallowed hard as Littlefoot had trapped him morally. He got Littlefoot to try his food so it would only be fair to return the favour. Besides, if Littlefoot was so sure it would taste fine then it should be okay. Shouldn't it? Jason's top lip quivered as he gnawed on one edge of the five-pointed star. It snapped off in his teeth and he chewed it cautiously. It tasted rather bitter at first but it was bearable. Jason swallowed his mouthful and yapped loudly as the flavour mingled in his mouth. Strangely, it wasn't as bad as he first thought. It was like a bitter-sweet version of lettuce but it had a definite flavour unlike humane-grown lettuce. Jason shrugged and tossed the rest of the leaf into his mouth. The strange flavour tingled even more so with the larger dosage but it was actually tasted rather pleasant.

"Hey, that was pretty nice!" Jason hummed satisfyingly surprised. Littlefoot gave a wide smile.

"See? I told you you'd like it!" Jason hopped up from his seat and went over to the tree where Littlefoot was eating from and happily helped himself to more treestars.

            With their stomachs full, Littlefoot and Jason strolled side-by-side to the Green Meadow where they had agreed to meet with the others after breakfast. A few other dinosaurs were there already including a number of stegosaurus, triceratops and corythosaurus herds and an old ankylosaurus everyone referred to as 'Old Mr. Clubtail'. Cera and the twins were already there with her father but they were in the middle of eating so Littlefoot and Jason decided to wait for them to finish before calling out to them. After a few minutes, Ducky, Spike and Petrie came into the meadow as they all huddled round each other to discuss what game to play. Jason happily introduced them to a few of his own childhood games he used to play when he was younger including using a vine as a skipping rope and a game of 'manhunt' that he had not played for years. Everyone enjoyed Jason's games as they had never played them before and it was a great insight to see how human children played together despite Jason mentioning that the majority of games they played were simply prehistoric versions of games he used to play; tag being one of them.

            The day wore on as most of the adult dinosaurs sat down to graze and watched Jason playing with the others and wondered why they had accepted him into their group. Obviously, the bad rumours that had spread about Jason were growing more and more wild as chattering between herds caught Jason's attention. Although it hadn't bothered him before, Jason felt a little saddened that untrue tales had been circulating about him when he had done nothing wrong. Jason believed that all he had to do was to prove to everyone in the Great Valley that he was a good person and would not wish them any harm. All he needed was a situation he could deal with which would to deem him worthy of their trust. After a few hours of messing around with each other, Littlefoot and the rest of the gang flopped down exhausted and began chattering to each other. Only Dinah and Dana were still rampaging around at full speed as toddlers do. Jason laughed at the two of them wondering how they had so much energy for two toddlers so small. They suddenly dashed into the woods as Jason returned to the conversation which he soon found himself talking about his world again.

            The conversation between the group switched from Jason answering questions to Jason suddenly asking questions. Jason became inquisitive about their adventures and their homeland. In a rather jumbled sort of way, the group told Jason about all their escapades including meeting Chomper, the friendly sharptooth, and their countless journeys to what they called the 'Mysterious Beyond' which was a general name for everything that lay outside the boundaries of the Great Valley. Jason was most intrigued by the story about what they had described as 'The Stone of Cold Fire' and the strange 'Rainbow-Faced' dinosaurs that had arrived in the Valley along with the migrating dinosaurs known as 'The Farwalkers'. Jason could understand the mystery behind the strange stone they had spoken of but acted as if he didn't know anything. Somehow, telling them about meteors, the outer regions of space and supposed alien life of creatures not of this world didn't quite seem appropriate. The discussion quickly led onto how dinosaurs lived together in the Great Valley and the fear of the dreaded sharpteeth.

            Just as the conversation was getting exciting, Dana tore out of the woodlands and was squeaking and yelping at Cera so quickly, she couldn't understand a word he was saying.

"Whoa Dana!" Cera tried to slow him down, "Tell Auntie Cera what's wrong."

"Dinee no-ee no no! Danee no-ee Dinee mooshie!" Dana exclaimed in panic.

"What!" Jason cried drawing attention to himself as he leapt up to his feet.

"What's up Jason?" Littlefoot asked standing up calmly but couldn't help noticing the look of urgency on his face.

"Something's happened to Dinah," Jason shouted. He then turned back to Dana who was hopping around, "Dana, where-ee Dinee, Danee no-no moosh?" Everyone looked at Jason in awe. He was communicating with Dana in his natural baby talk. Only Ducky understood what he had said and jumped in to help with the translation of Dana next speech.

"He said that he and Dinah were playing when Dinah disappeared," Ducky translated.

"Where is she now?" Littlefoot asked now panicking. If Cera's father found out the twins were playing where they shouldn't have been, she would be in serious trouble and even worse was that one of them was missing. Dana babbled on a little more as Jason and Ducky nodded in acknowledgement.

"What'd he say?!" Cera asked in desperation not understanding what her nephew had just said. Before Ducky could get a word in, Cera's father approached the group. Cera lowered her head and swallowed hard. She was in for it now.

"What's going on here?" he bellowed, "Where's Dinah?" Before anyone could stop him, Dana leapt forward and spelled out everything as best he could in his babyish language. Cera's father reared up in anger as more adults circled the children to find out what had happened. The group moved out from the centre of the circle as the adults discussed loudly what they should do.

"What are we going to do?" Ducky cried.

"We have to find her!" Littlefoot called out taking command. He glanced at Petrie.

"Petrie. You fly around and see if you can spot her from the air."

"Me got it!" Petrie barked and took to the air as aerial surveillance.

"So what are the rest of us supposed to do?" Cera cried fearing what her father would say if they never found her.

"We'll check out this area and look for her on the ground," Jason answered. He began pointing at each of them giving them orders.

"Cera! You, Spike and Ducky check the woods over there. That's where I saw them head off to when we sat down. Me and Littlefoot will check out the far end of the meadow to see if she managed to run round us." With their plan set, the group split up and set out to find Dinah with Cera still fretting about the possible torture she'd have to go through from her father if they failed to find her.

            Diving into woods where Jason claimed to have seen the twins last, Cera, Ducky and Spike rummaged through the undergrowth, behind every bush and tree to see if perhaps Dinah was playing some sort of practical joke. No luck as Cera's anxiety built up more and more.

"Dinah!" she called hoping she'd reply which she didn't.

"Dinah! Are you here?" Ducky tried her luck to see if perhaps she'd respond to her voice. No reply. Cera began to moan.

"Where could she be? I'm gonna be in SO much trouble!"

            On the opposite side of the Green Meadow, Littlefoot and Jason searched every patch of long grass and possible place a two year old, baby threehorn could hide. Under rocks and inside hollow trees they peeked hoping that they would find her hiding there, but Dinah was nowhere to be seen. A few tense minutes later, the group reformed back where they had broken from to discover neither of them had found the baby triceratops. Cera showed signs of mourning as she lowered her head and almost started to weep when Petrie landed next to her exhausted from flying for so long. Everyone was eager to know what Petrie had discovered. He just shook his head solemnly. They all lowered their heads in failure knowing that they had lost Dinah for sure. Dana pushed up against Cera's side and rubbed his head on her sobbing quietly. Cera turned to Dana trying to comfort him and hide her own grief at the same time. All of a sudden, there was a loud cawing from overhead. Everyone looked to the sky to see Petrie's mother croaking as if to give off a signal. Petrie flew up to his mother to see what she was crowing about. As soon as he heard, he dive-bombed back down to the group to report.

"Mama find her!" he called almost quacking, "Mama find Dinah!"

"Where?!" Cera cried staring up at him as he hovered above them.

"She on Smoking Mountain!" Petrie said as he pointed at the large mountain that was overshadowing the meadow and sure enough, it was literally smoking. 

"Is that an active volcano?" Jason asked as he leapt up as he saw a tiny figure in the distance approximately halfway up the mountain. The entire crowd turned to the Smoking Mountain in horror to see Dinah scaling the mountain herself with the black, sooty clouds pouring out of the mountain's summit becoming more and more thick. Jason suddenly felt something click in his head as he looked around the area. He then eyed a tree swamped with thick vines and a large piece of bark peeling off its trunk. He charged to the tree and snapped the bark off and grabbed a vine that was hanging loosely off the low canopy. The piece of bark was smooth underneath and curled up at one end. The others looked at him in amazement.

"Jason," Littlefoot called after him, "what are you doing?" Jason didn't reply but grabbed a stone and broke four, evenly spaced holes in the wood. The others looked at one another in surprise then focused back in on Jason and his peculiar piece of work. Jason then held the vine up to Spike's face.

"Spike. Bite the vine here," Jason ordered. Spike didn't need to be told twice as he chomped the vine into two between Jason's hands. Jason then threaded the two vine halves through the holes and tied them up to form two tight loops.

"Jason, what in the world are you doing?" Littlefoot asked now feeling a little embarrassed at Jason's behaviour. Jason still didn't reply but smiled sweetly with a twinkle in his eye. Taking his strange creation, he ran to the adults who were huddled and staring up at Dinah on the Smoking Mountain as the mountain began to shake violently. Jason knew what he was about do to was almost suicide but it was his big chance he'd been waiting for and he wasn't going to miss it. He'd either succeed, or die trying.

"Hey Grandpa!" he yelled up at his grandfather who looked at him with his plaque under one arm, "I'll get Dinah back!"

"No Jason you can't!" his grandfather barked gruffly, "you can't go up there. It's too dangerous!"

"But Grandpa, I can get Dinah back. I'll use my board I just made," Jason protested holding up his board as the tremors got worse.

"You can't go up there Jason. The Smoking Mountain is about to blow up. I'm sure young Dinah will come back down by herself once she sees the firewater." Jason took an educated guess that the firewater was obviously lava that would pour out of the mountaintop once it exploded.

"But it might be too late by then! And what if she can't outrun the lava flow?" Jason stared deeply into his grandfather's eyes for an understanding, "Please Grandpa! I can save her and I want the other Great Valley dinosaurs to trust me as much as you, Grandma and Littlefoot do. Please!"

His grandfather looked at Jason's expression which showed great determination not only to save the young triceratops, but to also prove his worth to the rest of the Great Valley's inhabitants. He looked at Jason's board wondering how he was going to use an old piece of bark with vines in it to save Dinah. Despite his curiosity, he realised that Jason had clearly formulated a plan which was a lot more that the group of adults had done.

"Fine…" his grandfather bowed finally. Jason leapt for joy at his grandfather's acceptance to give him the chance he'd been waiting for.

"Right…I need a lift up there and I'll use my board to get back down," Jason said as he held up his little creation for everyone to marvel at. Petrie's mother nobly volunteered to lift Jason up onto the Smoking Mountain's summit as Jason pushed his feet into the vine loops and stood up.

"Jason, wait!" Littlefoot cried as Petrie's mother hovered above him ready for take off. Jason turned and looked at him with the same sweet smile and twinkle in his eye as before.

"I'll be back Littlefoot. Don't worry! This is my big chance and I'm not going to blow it!"

With that, Jason jumped upwards and caught onto Petrie's mother's feet as she lifted him up to the summit. Littlefoot and the others could do nothing but watch as Jason dangled from his friend's mother's ankles towards what seemed like certain death. He sighed but silently wished him good luck.

            The wind approaching the summit was becoming increasing more turbulent as Jason drew closer. He glanced back at everyone in the Green Meadow as they grew smaller and smaller until their expressions of discomfort were indistinguishable. Petrie's mother jerked as the wind interfered with her flight pattern almost throwing her off. Jason looked down at the mountain side as Dinah looked back up at him. The little triceratops was dancing around with joy to see Jason as Petrie's mother lowered him down. A few feet from the ground, a mighty gust of wind blew and knocked Petrie's mother off her path. She flinched in response and instinctively lifted her feet and released Jason. Jason fell for the last few feet before landing on his board farther from Dinah than he had like to have been. Jason waved to Petrie's mother to tell her to return as he spun his board round to face downhill and slid down to Dinah. He had only been sliding for a few metres when a tremendous explosion was heard behind him. The Smoking Mountain erupted throwing thick smoke into the air. Rocks and other debris from the peak flew miles into the air as Jason crouched down to gain speed.

            Weaving between the rocks that lay on the mountainside, Jason sped down to a rather horrified Dinah who had only just noticed the lava pouring down behind Jason. Jason was approaching Dinah at high speed as he realised that he'd only get one shot at grabbing her. The moment was intensifying as the lava flowed after him getting gradually faster with the downhill motion. Jason was now within pouncing distance as Dinah leapt into Jason's arms. Jason caught her as the terrified, baby threehorn clung desperately around his neck, almost strangling him. Jason spent the next few seconds adjusting Dinah so she sat on top of his bag with her front feet fastened around his neck in such a way that she wasn't choking him. The lava was now flowing at a phenomenal speed as Jason and Dinah raced on the edge its threatening, fiery wave.

            On the ground, everyone was relieved that Petrie's mother had made it back in time as she collapsed completely worn out. Littlefoot and his friends' gaze didn't budge from the mountainside as they watched Jason tear down the Smoking Mountain kicking up a trail of dust behind him that was being quickly consumed by the lava flow. Littlefoot could feel his stomach churning with excitement but also with fear. Jason was bold he admitted but perhaps if he was being too bold, he might become careless and if that carelessness got too much then it would all be over in a split second. Cera was also pleading that Jason made it back safely. She was hoping that if he brought Dinah back, maybe she wouldn't be in as much trouble.

            Jason meandered his way back to Green Meadow where everyone was waiting. He had managed to outrun the lava as the distance between him and the raging, burning watery liquid gradually increased. Dinah had lost her fear and was quite enjoying the ride. Jason turned and smiled at her as the Great Valley border drew ever closer. In their excitement, they failed to notice a gigantic rock crash and crumble just inches from them. Jason blinked and swerved to dodge the flaming fragments that disintegrated and launched themselves into his path. Jason turned to stare up at the sky. He was horrified to see huge, flaming boulders sailing high above him as they began to rain down like blazing stars falling from the heavens. Jason tried his best to shift his body weight to evade the fiery missiles as the Great Valley's final barrier came into view. The Great Wall stretched all the way around the Valley like a natural shield that protected it from predators and dangers of the Mysterious Beyond. The hailstorm of ignited rock continued to shower down on him as he ducked with his goal only a few hundred metres ahead. He leapt off a smooth rock that made a jump in the pathway and landed heavily and twisting unsteadily. Jason felt something give way as he landed. The impact had chipped his board and the frictional force underneath was beginning to tear it to shreds. Suddenly, Jason looked up and jerked in fear as a massive ravine suddenly came into view. Jumping it looked impossible as he approached it and the gorge grew wider and wider. Jason felt a hot flush pass down his body as he gritted his teeth and charged at the gaping hole knowing that stopping would give him no chance of survival whereas tempting a death-defying leap of faith gave him at least a slight chance even if the odds were greatly disfavouring him.

"Hold on tight, Dinah!" he yelled to the young toddler who slammed her eyelids shut.

            On the ground, everyone was gasping in terror as they saw Jason disappear behind the thick row of trees on the horizon leaving them in a breath-taking suspense. The shower of flaming boulders had started to lighten up as Jason bent down to gain as much speed as possible. The friction was now breaking the board to the point it was becoming difficult to manoeuvre and one of the vines was fraying. If it took any more damage the vine would snap and Jason would be finished as he pictured himself toppling to a cruel fate either by flames or a plummet into the gorge up ahead. Still, he was determined to get back to the Great Valley in one piece remembering the promise he made to Littlefoot. The edge of the chasm was pulling up fast as splinters on the board were ripped off. Jason held is breath and Dinah clung tighter as they found themselves airborne, sailing over the great canyon. The wind dragged pass Jason's face as the board's integrity was now at the point of breaking in two. Jason felt the bark bend as they soared over the chasm. The vines had unravelled and fell into the gorge. The board then broke as Jason took one final leap just as it buckled and split in two. Then, Jason's eyes opened wide in fear. He wasn't going to make it. He had jumped too soon as he fell short of the cliff edge on the other side.

            The silence that had fallen upon the Great Valley was so petrifying that everyone seemed paralysed. Littlefoot and Cera looked up hopelessly at the mountain praying that Jason had made it. Suddenly, they heard a tremendous, blood-curdling thud that made Littlefoot jolt sickeningly. The echo rang out down into the Valley like a claustrophobic corridor as everyone gasped and then bowed their heads in defeat. Jason had obviously not made it across the ravine that they knew about but Jason had had to discover in the heat of the moment. The uneasy tension amongst the audience was released as everyone sighed crushed at Jason's brave but unsuccessful attempt to rescue little Dinah from the raging Smoking Mountain. Both of them had obviously perished in the escape. Dana wept noisily burying her head into Cera's side as she looked at Littlefoot in guilt. Littlefoot walked up to his grandparents who quickly comforted him with head rubs. As he pushed his face into his grandmother's ankle, he heard a rustling from the shrubs that bordered the woods before the Great Wall. Littlefoot looked up to see a tiny, beige triceratops child run out from the undergrowth.

"Dinah?" Cera questioned in disbelief.

"Din-ee!" Dana cried in delight as he ran to meet Dinah. They rolled over as he pounced on her playfully and giggled with glee. The crowd was amazed to find the young threehorn completely unharmed. Whilst everyone focused in on Dinah, Littlefoot looked up to see a rather battered and bruised, two-legged creature emerge from the shrubs. He was holding his left arm in pain as he trudged unsteadily over to Littlefoot. His face was black with soot as it cracked a victorious smile. Littlefoot jumped for joy as he ran to Jason barging him over in his excitement. Jason took full force of the blow which knocked him clean off his feet as Littlefoot stood on him licking his face, ignoring the bitter taste of the dirt that was there. The rest of the group followed cheering as Jason sat up managing to fend Littlefoot off him and catch the breath he had knocked out of him. The adult dinosaurs looked at the joyous sight of Jason receiving praise for his courageous rescue and highly risky escape. They circled around the group of merry children and looked down on Jason who stood up abruptly as if a drill sergeant were present. They too congratulated Jason on a fine display of courage and fortitude. Jason was overwhelmed by his publicity as Cera and her father approached him from behind the crowd. The group fell silent.

"Thank you," the gruff threehorn said almost as if he was regretting it.

"Yeah. Thanks Jason," Cera said a little more sincere. She smiled sheepishly but directed it at the ground so it was nearly impossible to see it.

"Your welcome!" Jason said simply like it had been no effort at all. The crowd then cheered Jason again. In midst his celebration, Jason turned to look at Littlefoot who just smiled pleasantly. Jason smiled back knowing that he had shown the Great Valley's inhabitants what he had hoped to achieve. With a bit of luck, this story will travel to all parts of the Valley proving that he was on their side and was prepared to face what they also had to. Jason would then be a part of the herd as a one of a kind dweller in the beautiful green land that was the Great Valley.

Chapter 14: Kindred Spirits 

            Jason's rescue did not go unaccredited. As he predicted, the little audience that watched him save Dinah from the ravaging volcano spread the word and the negative rumours once circulating about him instantly turned into remarks of praise and acceptance. Littlefoot was proud that Jason had finally achieved what he had hoped to. Dinah now adored Jason for rescuing her and Cera had gotten off with a light scolding from her father. Cera was also worried that her father still wasn't impressed with Jason even after risking his own life to save his granddaughter. She explained this to Littlefoot when she saw him the next day whilst Jason was still trying to nurse his wounds and burns from the fiery hailstorm the Smoking Mountain had thrown onto him. As it turned out, Jason's attempt to leap across the gorge from his airborne board made him miss the ledge on the other side but he managed to catch a outcropping that poked out a little further down. The thud everyone thought to be Jason was in fact a boulder that had rolled into the chasm in the magma that chased him. Unfortunately, Jason sustained a few burns to his left arm as it shattered but he managed to clamber up to the top and pull himself, and Dinah, out of the gorge.

"You serious?" Littlefoot asked in partial disbelief.

"Yeah. Dad wasn't really very thankful at all," Cera replied, "He still doesn't believe Jason has a right to be here." Littlefoot glanced at Jason who was sat out of audible range, wrapping his arm in a new bandage to replace the old one he had put on last night.

"But Jason risked his…" Littlefoot started but Cera shook her head.

"Both me and the twins tried to persuade my father that Jason was a good guy but he refused to believe anything that we told him. He doesn't think Jason belongs with us and should go back to wherever he came from." Littlefoot paused to think.

"Maybe he needs a little more persuasion that everyone else," he said at the end of his ponder, "but still, Jason did put himself on the line to save Dinah he could at least be grateful for that. Well… He is a threehorn I suppose." Cera knew Littlefoot was right but she gave him an intimidating glare to make sure he didn't say anything too drastic after his last threehorn remark.

"Hey guys!" Jason said from behind making Cera and Littlefoot jump, "What's with the long faces?"

"Erm…nothing. It's nothing," Cera said quickly trying to be inconspicuous.

"You sure Cera?" Jason questioned looking at the her troubled face, "Dinah's okay isn't she?"

"Oh yeah she's fine. In fact she wanted to see you today to say thanks again."

"Again?" Jason laughed not noticing Cera's attempt to evade his questions, "she's been thanking me since yesterday."

"She's just really happy that you helped him out Jason," Littlefoot added trying to relieve the pressure off Cera. Jason laughed even more.

"I'm going to have to start hiding from that little one," he joked as he walked off towards the watering hole to refill his flask that was wedged in his back pocket of his jeans. Littlefoot looked at Jason as he walked away thinking about what Cera's father had said. How could Jason not belong in the Valley? He had already saved him and Dinah from two potentially fatal situations using methods and techniques he had learned from humans. As far as Littlefoot was concerned, Jason was a miracle worker with his great knowledge and extraordinary abilities. He can manage to bring the dead back to life (or at least that's what it sounded like from the description his friends gave him) and he saved a baby dinosaur from the wrath of a tidal wave of firewater and a barrage of flaming, flying rocks using nothing but his initiative, quick thinking and incredible agility. If that wasn't respectable enough, Littlefoot couldn't figure out what would be. Littlefoot was dreading to think what might have happened if Jason hadn't been there. What would have happened then? The outcome of both events could have been very different. Still, Cera's father was entitled to his opinion despite being an opinion that didn't seem very justified.

            Night fell upon the Great Valley as the gang separated from their shady spot under the Tall Trees at the sound of beckoning parents. On their way home, Littlefoot was unnaturally quiet as Jason loomed over him to look at the uneasy expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked softly, "you're exceptionally quiet tonight. You didn't ask very many questions as you normally do." Littlefoot sighed as his thoughts troubled him and confused his emotions. He felt angry but depressed at the same time. Jason looked at him again.

"What is it Littlefoot? Tell me, what's bothering you?"

"It's…" he began trying to hold back the anxiety that was growing inside him but it was showing in his body language and tone of voice.

"Go on…" Jason insisted, "whatever is it that's troubling you I will try to help out the best I can."

"It's about…you," Littlefoot finally forced the words out past a tight lump that had formed in his throat. He expected Jason to be shocked but to his surprise, Jason's expression did not change. He simply nodded understanding what he meant about 'him'. Jason stopped Littlefoot to talk to him but Littlefoot felt so dirty and undignified that he couldn't look Jason in the eye.

"Do you mean about what all the other dinosaurs said about me not belonging here?" Jason asked trying to lower his head down to Littlefoot's which was ducked and hung between his two forelegs. He nodded glumly.

"Listen. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. If you believe you are right and trust your instincts to the point that you're willing to place your life on it, then don't hold back. Let it out! Those guys can say what they want but I believe I fit in here because my evidence lies within you and our grandparents. You guys are prepared to accept me as one of you. I know that I'll never be a dinosaur because I am what I am now! That's irreversible. But the physical essence is not the only state of matter. There is also a spiritual side and it is this side is always flexible. The spiritual matter can be changed and manipulated as a person feels is necessary and emotions control its metamorphosis." Jason bent down and raised Littlefoot's hanging head up with a finger placed gingerly under his chin. He then stared Littlefoot directly into his eyes.

"The spirit can be changed but all it needs is a little guidance."

"But what offers that guidance?" Littlefoot asked as he felt something inside lift as if on wings.

"Emotions displayed by your heart!" Jason said standing upright, "if you let your heart guide you, you can always find your goal! So never give up and keep trying!"

"Wow," Littlefoot gasped as if he'd been recharged but silently, it made him think off something someone had once said to him a long time ago, "that was magnificent." Jason smiled.

"Thanks. A very special person said the exact same thing to me when I found times hard."

"Who was that?" Littlefoot asked eagerly. Jason flinched at his question.

"No one important," he said bluntly. Littlefoot was shocked at Jason's reply. Surely someone of great importance must have said that otherwise why would Jason remember it practically word for word? Jason suddenly became very cold and defensive.

"Who told you that Jason?" he asked again more sincere.

"I told you, no one! It's nothing to be concerned about." Jason was becoming snappy but Littlefoot knew that he was striking at a sensitive nerve somewhere inside Jason.

"Are you sure you didn't…"

"I told you it's nothing! Just drop it and mind you own business!" Jason suddenly exploded. Littlefoot stepped back. He had never seen Jason react so violently before. Littlefoot backed down feeling he had stepped too far over the line.

"I'm…I'm sorry Littlefoot…" Jason sighed, "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that…well…" Littlefoot looked back up at Jason who spirit had diminished to nearly nothing even after his heroic speech earlier.

"It's just that my…" Jason felt his throat pull tight making it difficult for him to express himself, "my mother was the one who said that to me…"

"Your mother?" Littlefoot gasped. Jason nodded.

"My mother was an angel. I adored everything about her and she cared for me like no other. Even with a younger brother and sister she'd always express her love for me even when she was angry with me."

"It sounds like you are pretty close."

"Were…" Jason corrected him. Littlefoot stared at Jason in a slight puzzlement.

"Were? You mean…?" he began but Jason's nod was enough.

"She died seven years ago…when I was nine," Jason said as the tightness gradually pulled more, "she was protecting me from… a monster!"

"A monster?!" Littlefoot exclaimed, "and she…"

"Uh huh. She perished as I escaped. She fought with him in that dark room on the thirty-seventh floor of the Red Phoenix Lab building, but right when she came to meet me to evacuate…she was killed… Shot in the back." Littlefoot was dumbstruck at Jason's story and not understanding how his mother had been 'shot' dead. He had no idea that Jason had suffered so much in his childhood.

"She told me to be strong but I feel as though I'm always…alone." 

Littlefoot felt it was his turn to share a story.

"I know how it feels…" he began lowering his head, "to feel all alone." Jason turned his head to face Littlefoot who was now sitting down next to him. He parked himself on the grass.

"You too?" he asked. Littlefoot nodded.

"My mother died protecting me from a monster as well. When I was young and we were travelling to the Great Valley, I was attacked by a sharptooth. My mother heard my cries for help and came to my rescue but when she turned her back to him after she knocked him over…" Littlefoot swallowed hard, "he pounced on her back and bit her on the neck." Littlefoot began to sniffle as the flashbacks of that day flooded his mind. Jason rolled forward to comfort Littlefoot as tears began to well up in his eyes. 

"My mother also said some words to me that I'll never forget…" he continued. Jason merely blinked at Littlefoot, eagerly awaiting what wise words his mother had given to him, "she said that she'll always be…in my heart and…to let my heart guide me…" Those words had such power to them that Jason could feel himself losing control of his emotions as tears started to form in his eyes as well. For the next few moments, Littlefoot sat in Jason's arms and Jason in his feet as they recollected the most devastating moments of their lives. Tears flowed from their eyes and onto each other's shoulders. Finally Jason pulled back and wiped his face with his sleeve.

"You know what's strange about it all Littlefoot"

"What's that Jason?" Littlefoot asked rubbing his eyes.

"Despite our differences in physical appearance, our trials and hardships throughout our lives are practically the same except mine happened in the future."

"Yeah. It's almost like we're the same on the inside no matter what our differences that show on the outside."

"Exactly! We are one and the same! Like a match made in heaven!" Littlefoot and Jason danced around each other overjoyed at their newfound connection. They seemed like soul mates separated by time discovered from what initially was a very touchy and sensitive subject but the tortures they had to go through at such young ages reflected each other. Now, Littlefoot and Jason had a deeper meaning for being friends. Was it fate or destiny that had brought them together? Neither of them knew but they were perfect for each other now that their understandings of one another had reached a new level.

"I can't believe how similar we are. It's just incredible!" Jason exclaimed feeling a radiating warmth growing inside, "shame it's not exactly on a happy note though." Littlefoot then looked at Jason's neck and noticed his pendent had jumped out from under him t-shirt. With their newfound link, Littlefoot thought this was the best time to ask him about it.

"Jason? What's that around your neck? It's been there ever since you came here but I didn't know what it was."

"This?" Jason placed his hands on the gold chain and lifted his over his head. He held it in one hand and lowered it down so Littlefoot could see.

"This is my pendent. It's very special. My mother gave it to me before she…" his voice trailed off. Littlefoot was mesmerised by the red stone that appeared to be glowing.

"What's that in the middle?" he prodded the stone with his nose.

"That's a very special stone called a ruby. My mother found it and placed it in her pendent on an exploration trip to an ancient ruin. It's one of a kind since there is not another jewel like it in the whole world." He closed his hand around the red, triangular ruby and held it close to him.

"Mum said that it's supposed to contain some mystical power but only the right person can access it. But that's just a silly story of some ancient tribe that died out centuries ago. My mother was out searching the ruins when she found it."

"Strange," Littlefoot said. Jason turned and looked at him realising that his last sentence he had directed up to the night sky. He slipped his pendent back over his head and tucked the ruby down into his t-shirt. 

"I have a stone that looks just like yours," Littlefoot continued once Jason had secured his stone away.

"You have a stone like mine?" Jason asked making sure he heard properly.

"Yeah. It looks the same but it's blue. It's the same shape and size."

"Where is it?"

"At home. If we hurry, I'll show you before we have to go to bed."

"Okay then!" Jason said enthusiastically as he chased after Littlefoot.

            The two of them reached home but their grandparents were nowhere to be seen. Jason followed Littlefoot to his sleeping spot as he stepped into it and circled it sniffing the ground. Finally, Littlefoot came to a halt at one end of his pit and pulled back a small row of grass and picked up his lucky stone. It shimmered its deep blue colour as Littlefoot held it in his teeth. Jason looked at it in astonishment as it sparkled in the moonlight. As Littlefoot had described, it's triangular shape looked identical to Jason's ruby except for its colour.

"I can't believe it! It is the same shape! It looks like a sapphire," Jason cried as he pulled his pendent out again and carefully slipped the ruby out of its gold frame. He placed his red ruby on top of Littlefoot's blue sapphire. Incredibly, they fitted exactly on each other without any edges sticking out. A perfect replica of his own stone except Jason's stone appeared to glow whereas Littlefoot's stone shimmered. They then looked at each other in amazement as they noticed a light emerging from the stones. It appeared to grow within the two stones and radiate combining the two special qualities they had. A sparkling blue barrier which emitted a red glow. Strangely however, inside the blue, sparkling ring, there appeared to be a bit missing as a blank hole remained. Just as they became mesmerised with the brilliant light that shone from the stones, a voice bellowed down onto them.

"What are you two up to?" Littlefoot and Jason flinched and hurried to hide the stones before the figure could see. They looked up to see their grandmother and grandfather beaming down on them.

"Grandma… Grandpa? We were just errr…." Littlefoot stuttered.

"What he's trying to say is ummm…" Jason stammered.

"Telling each other stories again boys?" their grandfather chuckled over them. Littlefoot and Jason looked at one another.

"Errmm…Yeah! We were just telling each other stories!" Littlefoot suddenly jumped in nudging Jason discreetly.

"Oh yeah! That sure was a nice story," Jason said glaring his teeth with an uneasy smile.

"Well, it's time for sleep you two! We have visitors arriving tomorrow provided they haven't had any trouble travelling."

"Visitors?" Littlefoot asked, "who?"

"You'll have to wait and see for tomorrow Littlefoot. Now, off to bed," his grandfather urged pushing him into his pit. Jason was about to hop up into his tree when he felt something clamp him around his waist and lift him up.

"Thanks Grandma," he said stroking her nose.

"Your welcome dear. Good night!" she replied giving him a head rub.

"Goodnight to you too Littlefoot," his grandfather said bowing down to rub him as well. As their grandparents wandered a little further on to settle down to sleep, Jason slipped the ruby back into his pendent and turned to face Littlefoot.

"G'night Littlefoot!" he called down from up in his tree.

"Goodnight Jason. See you in the morning!" Littlefoot replied as he lowered his head and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 15: The Restless Phantom 

            After another peaceful night's sleep, Littlefoot yawned opening his mouth as wide as he could. He stood up and stretched to get his stiff joints mobile again. With a light, bubbly feeling inside, Littlefoot opened his eyes to find something wrong. He looked around him confused as he found himself in a strange place. The trees were all bent in peculiar ways and their bare branches twisted into devilish extensions that looked as though they were ready to snatch at him. The sky was eerily dark and legless reptiles slithered around the warped tree trunks as Littlefoot tried to make out some means of direction because everything looked exactly the same. Wherever he was, it definitely was not the Great Valley. Cautiously, Littlefoot began to walk towards a tree that was coiled up so much it looked threatening. Walking past the twisted tree, he weaved through a few more of the menacing, coiled trunks and found himself in the centre of a clearing. Littlefoot looked in disbelief as he saw exactly the same coiled tree he had just past. Considering it as a coincidence that the tree might have looked the same, Littlefoot carried on the same direction. After walking through more twisted trees, Littlefoot came to another clearing but was confused as it looked identical to the last clearing he had just walked through. To make matters more confusing, the same tree appeared again. Still thinking that the tree couldn't possibly the same, Littlefoot pressed on. Into next clearing, Littlefoot was now sure that something wasn't quite right. As Littlefoot pasted the twisted tree he claimed to be revisiting, he tore a piece of the twisted bark off the tree and placed it in the centre of the darkened clearing to prove to himself that it couldn't possibly be the same tree. Moving into the next clearing, Littlefoot stared open-mouthed at the twisted tree as it bore the same wound that he had inflicted on the tree he had just passed. Even more disturbing was that his next step he took towards the tree had hit something. Littlefoot lifted his foot up to find the piece of bark he had placed in the middle of the clearing was still there.

            Littlefoot's mind was now buzzing with thoughts. He was trapped in an endless, woodland labyrinth with each path through the trees looping around to where he started. Littlefoot didn't know what to do as he kicked the bark away from him almost in rage. Littlefoot then heard a crash from above him and the area around him light up with a flash. He looked up at the sky as rain began to fall and splash on him.

"Great. A storm's breaking out," Littlefoot said to himself as a flash filled the clearing and a loud clap of thunder rumbled overhead. The rain that fell was ice cold on his skin but strangely enough, the rain seemed unnaturally cold. Their impact felt like pine needles bouncing off his back and stabbed with a frozen, piercing feeling. Littlefoot began to shiver and hid under the tormenting, twisted tree that had troubled him since he woke up. The thick canopy of the warped tree branches prevent the rain from hitting the ground. Not even a single drop landed under the trees where Littlefoot stood trembling at the icy cold rain that rolled off his back. To his amazement, the water tingled on his skin from the coldness but suddenly, the tingling turned into a burning sensation as Littlefoot flinched in pain. He shook himself to fling the burning water off his body and stared at the ground. The water droplets erupted into flames as they hit the ground. Littlefoot backed further into the wood to shield himself from anymore of the strange water.

            The storm worsen and the rain clattered down in the clearing. Littlefoot stood trapped in a void with nowhere to run and the burning water flowing heavily like a broken stream in front of him showing no signs of stopping. Littlefoot was about to sit down to make himself comfortable when he heard a creak. Leaping up to his feet again, Littlefoot whirled around to find the source of the noise. The creaking grew louder as Littlefoot's eyes darted from one edge of the clearing to the other waiting from the creature to show itself. Pushing his back up against the twisted tree, Littlefoot felt something prick him just above the base of his tail. Flinching in response to the pain, Littlefoot turned to find the twisted tree had poked him from behind. Its branches were lower than before and he must have backed into them. Readjusting his gaze to the storm, Littlefoot then felt a sharp object jab him a second time. This time, it actually felt as if it was done deliberately. Littlefoot looked around slowly excepting to see a sharptooth stabbing him with a jagged claw, but still saw nothing. Just as Littlefoot was about to dismiss the impact as a figment of his imagination, a set of long, spindly fingers grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. Squirming in the creature grasp, Littlefoot looked up to see the creepy trees had come to life and were glaring at him maliciously. The dark and irregular cracks in their trunks appeared to look like faces and they cackled evilly as Littlefoot writhed to free himself.

            Littlefoot struggling wasn't proving to be successful as the evil trees laughed sinisterly at his fool-hardy attempt to break free. The storm worsened even more as the trees danced at Littlefoot's despair. Thunder cracks and lightening flashes repeated themselves echoing in the clearing with their intervals between each shortening every time. Littlefoot's writhing came to abrupt standstill as the energy in him faded forcing him to collapse in the evil trees' grasp. The trees sinister laughter grew louder as Littlefoot folded up in their scrawny fingers in exhaustion. He looked into their jagged slits for eyes and knew that he was at their mercy but still tried to find even the slightest bit of hope that he'd make it out alive.

            The storm grew even louder as lightening flicked across the dark clouds that patched over the sky. The abnormal rain continued to flow and feed the evil trees glee as Littlefoot lay suffering in their grimy hands. Suddenly, a bolt of lightening cracked across the sky and the entire clearing flashed a blinding white. Littlefoot slammed his eyes shut at the intensity of the flare and heard the trees laughter die so quickly, it was if someone had put them to sleep in an instant. As the light faded, Littlefoot opened his eyes to try and recall what had just happened when the spindly fingers of the trees suddenly gave way. Littlefoot fell and hit the ground at an awkward angle knocking the wind out of him. Gasping to retrieve the air that escaped his lungs, Littlefoot looked up to see the trees swaying dangerously. They shrieked a horrible noise as if in pain as their fingers disintegrated into dust. Littlefoot looked up at the sky as the lightening was zipping across the clouds as if possessed by a magical force. He then heard the creaking of wet wood as the trees turned to Littlefoot and glowered threateningly at him. Littlefoot gaped as their hissing and growling petrified him. Frozen in place, the trees bent down to him to snatch him up again but a second flash lit the clearing as a lightening bolt shot from the dark sky and struck the evil trees. The trees writhed with pain as Littlefoot stared astonished at them. As their pain subsided, the trees turned back to Littlefoot but a third bolt cracked inches from Littlefoot face severing their icy glares from his own petrified expression. From the bright light that was emitted from the bolt, a glowing, white figure stood up. Littlefoot gasped at the figure as its stance was exactly like Jason's. It stood on two legs and stood upright but this figure had white flowing robes and its hair was brown, long and didn't stop until it reached the centre of its back. In its right hand, the figure held a crooked tree branch and on its left hand it bore a green light that encased a white aura that swirled like a tornado.

            The trees seemed stunned at this figure's sudden appearance but their awe didn't last for long. The trees began hissing again and started to pull their roots out of the ground. The figure, which stood with its back to Littlefoot, turned to him and waved its stick over Littlefoot's head. In a calm, female voice it chanted strange words that Littlefoot couldn't understand. To Littlefoot's amazement, a large bubble surrounded him and glistened with a heavenly sparkle. The figure smiled at Littlefoot and then raised her hand to the bubble. In a bright flash, Littlefoot felt an invisible force hit the bubble and pushed him into the clearing, out of reach of the trees. Littlefoot collapsed in a heap out in the abnormal rainfall but he quickly discovered that the bubble prevented the cursed water from touching his skin. He looked up at the figure as she turned to the menacing trees which were now loomed over her. Raising her arms, she began to chant some mystic words that made the ground tremble and the storm overhead react violently. The whirling, white aura encased in the green light spun faster and grew larger until it was no longer imprisoned by the green light. The aura lifted up and engulfed the evil trees, spinning them around like twigs in a whirlwind. The chanting became louder as the sky sparked and cracked with lightening. Littlefoot lost his footing from the tremors but continued to stare at the female figure in astonishment as her powerful magic held the evil trees suspended in the air in her spiralling aura. The figure raised her stick higher and chanted to the skies. Then, falling to the ground and dragging her staff with her, lightening bolts erupted from the darkened sky and ripping straight into the eye of the whirlwind. The trees screamed in pain as the electric power crackled and sparked over them. Suddenly, with a tremendous flare, the tornado erupted in a bright, white explosion that filled the whole area. Littlefoot dived his face into his front feet to shield his eyes from the powerful light that radiated from the outburst.

            Once the bright light had gradually died, Littlefoot slowly removed his feet from his face and looked around. He was still encased in the magic bubble but there was nothing around him. All the trees and that strange, white figure had disappeared from sight. All that remained were pits in the dampened soil were the trees had uprooted themselves to attack. The storm had stopped but the dark clouds stayed in place. The silence was deathly but Littlefoot had a strange feeling that he was not alone. He scanned to the left and then to the right through his magic barrier but nothing was there. As he readjusted his view to look straight ahead, he found himself staring directly at the white robes of the female figure that had saved him. Littlefoot jumped backwards and crashed into the back of the bubble in surprise. The figure smiled warmly and raised her staff over the shield. With a gentle circling of her staff, the bubble folded and melted from around Littlefoot. In awe, Littlefoot looked around to find himself unhurt by the fiery rainwater but he felt pain in his sides where the trees had gripped him. As he hissed in response to the pain, the figure raised her staff and a green, sparkling light twinkled over Littlefoot. In an instant, his pain was relieved as if it were never there to begin with. Once the sparkling, green stars had disappeared, Littlefoot looked up at the figure.

"Thanks," he said, "I thought I was finished."

"That's quite alright," the figure smiled lovingly at him.

"Who are you?" Littlefoot then asked wondering why she had rescued him from the possessed trees.

"I am a Summoner. I fight with my staff and magic abilities to help the less fortunate. In this world of evil and destruction, I travel its winding roads to being peace wherever I come across all with one mission in mind… To find you." Littlefoot was stunned. This figure had roamed across the world just to find him. 

"Y-you were looking for me?" Littlefoot couldn't help but ask as the shock of it all made him stutter. With a simple nod, she then raised her arms up high and the dark clouds parted so the hidden sun could light the clearing. The dark and murky clearing suddenly transformed into a beautiful green field filled with never-ending rows of flowers. Littlefoot smiled at the transformation and clearly knew that this 'Summoner' was not a threat to him.

"You look just like my friend Jason except he's a boy," Littlefoot then realised, "are you a human too?"

"Yes I am. An enchanted being with a troubled soul." Littlefoot looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Just as he had asked his question, the figure folded in pain clutching her abdomen.

"Are you alright?" Littlefoot leapt forward to help her up. As the figure unfolded and stood up again, she removed her hand from her stomach. Littlefoot gasped in horror to see that a gaping wound lied underneath her hand. Her beautiful, flowing, white robes were now stained in blood.

"You're hurt!" Littlefoot cried in despair, "Can't you heal yourself?" The figure smiled just as sweetly as she did before but shook her head glumly.

"Throughout my travels I have brought peace to all those who required it. All except for one person…"

"Who's that?" Littlefoot asked seriously concerned for her well being as the wound shows no signs of healing.

"…Myself." Littlefoot stared up at her in a shocked confusion.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Littlefoot then asked nervously.

"I have served all that need my help but ignored my own pain. The only person who needs peace now is me and now that I have fulfilled my task, I can rest." Littlefoot wished he had never asked as he began to fear what the figure was about to do next.

"We are destined to fight evil together Guardian, but you cannot fight a war without first shedding blood, be it the blood of an enemy or the blood of a comrade." Littlefoot was greatly stunned. She referred to him as a guardian, as all the others had, and she proclaimed to be the other chosen by destiny to fight along side him. According to the old longneck he met firstly, there were three chosen ones to fight the great battle, him being one of them. Now he had met the other two and both had rescued him from near death situations. Littlefoot's attention was then drawn to the swirling white aura inside the figure's green light on her finger.

"What is that on your hand?" he asked.

"This light is my soul. It is what gives me my power and wisdom." The figure slipped the green light off her finger and held it in her hand. Littlefoot gazed deeply into the spiral of white light and found it almost hypnotising. The figure then chanted some more strange words and the green light elevated out of her hands. It hovered in front of Littlefoot's nose as the figure stopped her chant and suddenly collapsed. Littlefoot gasped as the figure had died right in front of his eyes. Just as he approached her, the green twinkling stars began to light up all over her body. As they congregated over her, the body glowed white and disappeared from sight. The green stars that remained formed a green, sparkling stream that circled Littlefoot. Littlefoot looked around him as the stars twinkled and spun round his feet and spiralled upwards over him. Upon reaching his head, the stars shot from in front of Littlefoot's eyes and into the green light that was still hovering in front of him. To his amazement, once the last green star had entered the green orb, it spoke out to him.

"Thank you Guardian. Now we have met at last, my quest is over. Now I may rest in peace and heal my wounds." Littlefoot didn't know what to say. The orb continued.

"Please, take this stone with you. It is called the Summoner's Soul Emerald. It will help you remember your great courage and my friendship." With those as her final words, the green orb fell silent and dropped to the ground. Its light faded to reveal another triangular stone, this time green. Littlefoot picked up the emerald and looked deep into it. The same white, swirling aura that had been in the figure's light when it rested on her hand was now in the stone. As Littlefoot looked at it, he saw the whirl getting larger. It was growing at such an incredible rate that Littlefoot dropped it in fear. As the stone hit the ground, a raging tornado emerged from out of it lifting Littlefoot up off the floor. With nothing to grab onto, Littlefoot could not do anything but allow the tornado to drag him into its vicious vortex. Spinning around at high speed, Littlefoot could not tell what was happening as the area turned a brilliant white. The white tornado engulfed everything until there was nothing left and Littlefoot felt his consciousness slip away as he passed out from the enormous force that had imprisoned him.

Chapter 16: Faith of the Non-Believers 

            Daylight made its first appearance to dawn a new day in the Great Valley. Littlefoot lay tossing and turning in his pit as he began acting out his dream but was brought to a sudden stop as his grandmother rubbed him gently to calm him down. Littlefoot, wearily, opened his eyes and saw the troubled gaze on his grandmother's face.

"Are you alright Littlefoot?" she asked him softly.

"Uh-huh," Littlefoot sighed as he was brought back to reality.

"Another nightmare?" his grandfather asked approaching him from behind his grandmother's lowered head. Littlefoot nodded a little saddened at the fact that his nightmares had returned after the past few nights being so peaceful. Glancing at Jason's tree, Littlefoot saw Jason lying sound sleep completely undisturbed as a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach bubbled enviously.

"Well, don't worry about it Littlefoot. Have you forgotten about what's happening today?" his grandfather was trying to remove the cold, betrayed look on Littlefoot's face as he looked up at Jason.

"Huh?" Littlefoot then said snapping out of his ice-cold glare to focus on his grandfather's face.

"Remember? We're expecting visitors this morning. One of our flyers spotted them heading this way yesterday evening but they stopped a little way back to rest for the night. They should be here before the bright circle is at its highest point," Littlefoot's grandmother reported hoping to bring him a little joy.

"Oh yeah, you told me last night didn't you?" Littlefoot chirped completely forgetting his grudge against Jason's restful sleep compared to his own.

"We must be ready for them so I suggest we all get something to eat and have a bath before we go to greet them," his grandfather smiled as Littlefoot pulled himself up out of his little pit. He then joined Littlefoot's grandmother as she walked over to Jason's tree to wake him up.

"Time to get up Jason," she said soothingly and nudged him gently. Jason groaned and rolled over.

"Mum. I don't want to go to school today…" he mumbled still asleep. The elderly couple stared at each other utterly stunned. He didn't want to go where? It was obviously a human thing.

"It's okay Jason. You don't have to go to school today," she improvised in the same soft tone.

"REALLY! You mean it!" Jason leapt round in excitement and found himself nose to nose with two rather perplexed brontosauruses. Jason glanced at them completely embarrassed and heard Littlefoot giggling below him.

"Uurrgghh, what time is it?" Jason gurgled half asleep.

"Sunrise!" Littlefoot barked happily, "Time to get up!" Jason groaned and flopped back down.

"How can you guys be so alert so early in the morning?" Jason complained. The three dinosaurs exchanged confused looks.

"C'mon sleepyhead!" Littlefoot said, "We got guests arriving today so we gotta get ready!"

"Alright, alright," Jason moaned sitting upright. He yawned and swung his legs round to step out of his bed. Littlefoot was about to follow his grandparents to their feeding spot when Jason suddenly gave a shriek followed immediately by a heavy thud. Littlefoot whirled around to see Jason rubbing the base of his spine having just fallen out of his tree.

"I'll never get used to this getting up at sunrise stuff," he sighed slowly standing up so not to cause himself anymore pain. Littlefoot sniggered at Jason and his rather rugged start to the morning. Maybe since he had had a bad night, Jason was having a bad morning to compensate.

            The treestars that morning were extra succulent thanks to the dew that had crystallised on them. Littlefoot chomped them down one after the other but Jason decided to risk tasting the fruits and berries that grew in and around the area. The trial and error process of selecting the right fruits to eat was rather messy as Jason found himself spitting out foul, bitter tasting fruit that were obviously not edible. Littlefoot was enjoying watching Jason's twisted facial expressions when he ate the nasty ones because every expression was different and more humorous than the last. With breakfast out of the way, Jason, Littlefoot and their folks to a trip down to a stream to bathe in. Littlefoot was the first to jump in and his grandparents followed much more controlled. Jason on the other hand had decided to go one further and grabbed a low hanging vine to swing across the stream. Littlefoot's head followed Jason as he swung out over the water. Suddenly, in a split second, the vine snapped and Jason was sent sprawling as the momentum of the swing continued despite the vine no longer being attached. He fell backwards into the water and a deafening slapping sound echoed in the small area as Jason hit the water's surface. Littlefoot cringed in pain hissing at Jason's heavy impact but quickly dived under to see him holding his bare back in pain. As they both surfaced, Littlefoot couldn't help but laugh at Jason's rather inelegant flight and Jason joined in, chuckling at his own misfortune. 

"How bad can one morning get?" Jason thought which made him laugh harder.

            The sun gradually climbed higher into the sky as Littlefoot and Jason stood with their grandparents awaiting their guests to arrive along with a few other eagerly awaiting herds.  Jason felt the same nerves that buzzed in him when he first met his grandparents were once again making him uneasy. Cera bounded over to them closely followed by Spike who was carrying Ducky and Petrie on his back. Littlefoot instantly started talking about his new dream when flyers swooped in announcing the herd's arrival into the Valley. All eyes were drawn to the incoming longneck herd that Littlefoot thought were strangely familiar for some reason. Littlefoot's grandfather was the first to greet them as they approached but Littlefoot couldn't help but wonder what was so familiar about this herd.

"Hey. Do you notice anything weird about this herd you guys?" Littlefoot turned to his friends.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, something does seem vaguely familiar about them," Cera then said having had it brought to her attention.

"Look at the leader!" Ducky pointed at the old longneck that had a peculiar folded scar on one side of her face. Littlefoot's jaw nearly hit the floor as if something hit him smack in the face.

"It can't be!" Littlefoot gasped.

"It is!" Petrie reassured him leaping up and down on Spike's back. Just to confirm his statement, a young, female longneck poked her head out from behind one of the adult longneck's massive leg.

"ALI!!!" all five of them called together and charged forward to welcome her.

"Hello everyone!" Ali replied happy to see them all.

"How have you been?" Littlefoot jumped in, overjoyed to see his migrating friend again.

"Okay, I guess. We've been wandering around for quite a long time but we recognised the mountains that overshadowed your Valley on the horizon so we decided to drop by."

Everyone was excited to see Ali again that Jason had been forgotten.

"It so good to see you again!" Petrie chirped hopping down from Spike's back.

"We have so much to tell you!" Littlefoot barked. Then he suddenly remembered about Jason. "Oh, Ali! I want you to meet…" Littlefoot turned to introduce Jason but he had vanished. Littlefoot sighed.

"Where'd he go now?" Cera snorted a little offended by his disappearance.

"Where did who go?" Ali asked following everyone's backward glance to the spot where they had been standing.

"We have a new friend. Well, he's kind of a friend but he's a bit weird and…" Cera reported but Littlefoot cleared his throat audibly for her to stop.

"Don't listen to Cera," Littlefoot urged, "he's fine. He's really nice but a little shy."

"What is he then? Another longneck? A flyer? Or maybe a threehorn?" Ali guessed. The group shuffled a little uneasy unsure on what to tell her.

"He's a…" Littlefoot began but found he couldn't finish.

"He's a what?" Ali asked. She giggled at first think that perhaps they had befriended an egg-stealer or a skull-basher or perhaps something even stranger.

"Well he… he stand on two legs," Petrie began standing up as straight as he could.

"Yes and has hands like me," Ducky added quickly.

"Yeah, he didn't eat treestars until now but we help him to and he's weird because he doesn't have a tail…" Cera added as promptly as Ducky had. Ali was completely confused. What kind of a dinosaur never used to eat treestars, has hands and stands like a swimmer but has no tail?

"Is your friend some kind of strange sharptooth or something?" Ali asked backing up a little.

"Oh no, no!" Littlefoot cried, "He's not a sharptooth but um…"

"Then what kind of dinosaur is he?"

"Well… that's the thing…" Littlefoot said slowly, "He's…not….a dinosaur…" He waited to see what Ali's reaction would be. Her face was scrunched up in disbelief.

"He's not a dinosaur! How can your friend NOT be a dinosaur? Then what is he then?" Ali sounded angry because she felt her friends were playing her for a fool.

"He's a…" Littlefoot began but then he looked past Ali and noticed the strange creature they had tried to describe standing behind his grandfather's leg as he was talking to the herd's leader.

"Jason!" Littlefoot called out to him. He watched Jason's head zip back behind his grandfather's leg in response. Ali turned to see if she could see what Littlefoot had just called out to.

"Jason? Is that his name?" Everyone nodded. Littlefoot on the other hand was strolling over to Jason's hiding place to bring him out.

"Jason! What are you doing?" Littlefoot barked at him, "C'mon! Come and meet my friend."

"I…I don't think that's just a hot idea," Jason stammered, "I mean, what if your friend freaks out and runs away or something…?"

"She won't now come on!" Littlefoot insisted. He then grabbed the rim of Jason's dragon hooded jumper and began pulling him out into the open.

"Hey!" Jason said trying to resist, "Cut it out! Quit pulling me!"

"You gotta meet her," Littlefoot said through his teeth. He dug his heels deeper into the ground to gain more traction.

"Knock it off Littlefoot! I'm not kidding! You'll rip my hoodie!" Jason protested. All of a sudden, Littlefoot stepped on a stone and he lost his balance. In his fall, he let go of Jason's jumper making him tumble out from behind his grandfather's leg in the opposite direction.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" Ali had trotted over to Littlefoot to see what he was tugging at. As Jason got up and brushed himself down, he looked up to see Ali's astonished face staring directly at him. Ali was completely stunned because Jason was exactly how Littlefoot and the others had described him. No tail, standing upright and had hands like a swimmer except he bore an extra finger on each hand.

"Ali, this is Jason," Littlefoot puffed as he stood up, "he's our new friend."

Ali couldn't take her eyes off him as Jason waved nervously realising that yet another introduction had gone totally pear-shaped.

"Hi! You must be Ali," Jason said at last with a nervous, croaky voice. Ali was still stunned beyond expression but she managed to find her voice and tried to hide her astonishment.

"Hi. You must be the new friend."

"His name is Jason," Littlefoot butted in as the tension between the two of them soared.

"Is it true?" Ali then asked nervously expecting him to pounce on her.

"Is what true?" Jason asked but read her question from the expression on her face, "You mean is it true that I'm not a dinosaur?" Ali was shocked as he knew exactly what she had wanted to say.

"Yeah…how did you know I was going to say that?"

"Well, I could read it from the sheer look of horror on your face that that was liable to be your next question." Ali was still shocked but was strangely impressed.

"If you must know, then I'm a human."

"A creature from the future!" Ducky announced standing up tall on Spike's back pointing a finger up to the sky.

"Really?" Ali asked. Jason sighed as he felt the same questions that everyone else had asked about his existence about to pour out of Ali's mouth like a fast-flowing river. As the conversion wore on, Jason suddenly found himself talking to a much wider audience once the old leader had finished talking to his grandfather. Everyone was amazed at Jason as he found himself taking centre stage and preaching about life after the dinosaur era once again.

            The audience gradually broke up as the migrating herd, wandered in search of food whilst Littlefoot and the others sat down to tell Jason about how they met Ali some time ago and how they had travelled to the Land of Mists to retrieve a rare flower to cure Littlefoot's grandfather's illness.

"Wow! You mean to say that you help save Grandpa?" Jason boasted amazed. Ali nodded shyly. "I've only met you a little while and already I'm grateful to you." Everyone giggled as Ali blushed at Jason's compliment. To his amazement, Jason found that he was finding Ali very easy to get along with although she never really spoke directly to him. She always worded her questions in such a way that one of the others would answer rather than talking to Jason face-to-face. Jason dismissed this as first greeting nerves but he felt he had already overcome his. The others were a little concerned that Ali never faced Jason or constantly spoke to them rather than to him. They thought she was showing Jason the same uncertainty feelings she had had about them when she first arrived in the Great Valley. She related directly to Littlefoot but found it difficult to confront the others. Jason was now feeling a little downcast because of the way Ali was acting towards him. After a while of sitting in silence, Jason felt out of place and stood up to leave the group.

"Jason? Where you going?" Littlefoot called after him.

"It's okay," he sighed, "I can understand why Ali doesn't wish to talk to me. It's all right, you guys go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later." Everyone looked at everyone else except Ali who was staring at the ground feeling a bit ashamed. She didn't mean to belittle Jason but that was always her initial thought of a creature that wasn't a longneck, let alone a creature that wasn't even a dinosaur. Littlefoot looked up at his fostered brother and wanted to say something but felt that he would be rejecting Ali if he did.

            The tense silence of the group was broken but the two, baby quadrupeds darting into the centre of their little circle. They were all jittery with excitement but their voices were squeaky with fear.

"Cerie! Grampee Threebe!" Dinah cried.

"Grampee Threebe no-ie no, no!" Dana squeaked.

"Slow down! I can't understand you when you talk so fast," Cera pleaded with them.

"Who are they?" Ali asked standing up.

"Dinah and Dana," Ducky replied, "they are Cera's niece and nephew."

"What's wrong twins?" Littlefoot asked as they bounced up and down.

"Grampee Threebe! He go-go bye-bye!" Dinah and Dana cried together.

"What'd they say Ducky?" Petrie turned to the little saurolophus for a translation.

"It is hard for me to understand them when they talk so fast, it is!" Ducky complained.

"Jason! Come quick! We need you!" Littlefoot wailed at the top of his voice. Ali looked at Littlefoot almost in disgust.

"What could HE possibly do?" Ali protested.

"He can understand their baby talk," Littlefoot replied ignoring the emphasis on the 'he' part of Ali's sentence. Jason came jogging back to the group.

"What's up?" he called sensing the urgency from within the crowd. Dinah and Dana babbled their sentences so fast they didn't even sound like they were speaking words.

"Whoa twins! Take it easy! What's the problem?" The twins were becoming agitated from repeating their sentences but they said it again as clearly as they could manage.

"Uh oh!!!" Jason suddenly jumped up in fear.

"What did they say?" Cera cried desperately understanding that there was something wrong with her father.

"Your dad's sick. He's lying in the field but he can't stand up." Cera gasped in horror.

"Twins. Take me to Grandpa Threehorn," Cera ordered. The two, young toddlers didn't need to be told twice as they zipped off in the direction of Cera's father.

            When they reached the field, a massive crowd, including members of Ali's migrating herd, were circled around Cera's father as he lay on one side and groaned in pain. Those looking over him shook their heads in pity having failed to find the cause of his discomfort.

"Daddy!" Cera cried cutting through the crowd. Littlefoot, Jason, Ali, Petrie, Ducky and Spike stood on the inside of the circle allowing Cera to run on ahead.

"C-Cera…" the threehorn sighed.

"Daddy! What's wrong?" Cera was almost in tears.

"My stomach is burning… It's…it's…so painful…" he cried and let out another yelp of pain.

"Daddy! Don't leave me!" Cera said desperately shaking him with her nose horn.

"Oh! What are we going to do?" Ducky sighed.

"I don't know! Cera's dad looks really ill," Littlefoot said. He turned to Ali on his left hand side. She returned the glance but remained silent. "Oh, Jason! What can we do?… Jason?" Littlefoot search around for Jason but he had disappeared again.

"He over there!" Petrie pointed him out over by Cera but behind her father. He was rummaging through the plants looking for something. Jason scanned the plant life in search of something. Failing to find it, he turned to Cera.

"Cera. What has your dad eaten recently?" Jason asked her sternly.

"Daddy? What were you eating?" she asked her father. He dragged his head across the floor and pointed out a red plant with a distinct yellowy orange flower with his horn. Jason examined the plant closer as the rest of the group approached. Jason picked up the plant carefully between two fingers and showed it Cera's father.

"Is this the plant Mr. Threehorn?" Jason asked. He nodded slowly and groaned. Jason acknowledged and began to run towards home.

"Jason? Where are you going?" Littlefoot called after him.

"To get my bag! Watch over him until I get back!"

            A few minutes later, Jason returned with his brown bag on his back. The crowd began to chatter wondering what the young human was about to do. Jason dived into his bag and pulled out a white, pocket-sized book. He began flicking through the pages.

"What's that thing?" Petrie asked.

"It's my mother's book on botany. It tells you about the properties of different plants," Jason replied placing his finger on a page and began scrolling down it.

"Here it is!" he said finally as he began reading the caption underneath the illustration of the plant that lay beside him. "The Ember Flower. A plant with a distinct red colouration of the leaves and a yellow/orange flower whose colour is dependent on the season. This prehistoric plant has been discovered as spores in amber dating back to the early Triassic period. The underside of the red leaves have tiny barbs that are tipped with a poison that stimulates the nervous system to perceive a burning sensation on the point of contact. Although contact with this plant is not dangerous, the barbs can be toxic if ingested but increasing the acidity of gastric juices to the point were the digestive track becomes inflamed and damaged resulting in..." His voice trailed off.

"What's all that mean?" Cera cried not understanding a word Jason had just read.

"It means that this flower has poisoned your dad to the point where if he doesn't receive treatment, he'll…" Jason couldn't say the last word of his sentence but he felt the situation was hopeless. Cera wept over her father as he became less and less responsive to calls to keep him aroused. Jason looked at Cera and the twins as they cried over Mr. Threehorn. Jason couldn't stand the thought of Cera, Dinah and Dana becoming orphans, so he referred back to his book and looked at the footnote. He gasped in surprise.

"That's it!" Jason yelled. The entire crowd glared at Jason responding to his triumphant outcry.

"What it?" Petrie cawed from overhead landing next to him so he could see the book.

"It says that the toxins can be cured by another herb!"

"What?" Cera leapt up with tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"Grandpa! I need a blue herb! Is there one nearby?" Jason called up to his grandfather showing him the picture of a blue leafed plant.

"Why yes! It's on the edge of the Grazing Pasture," he replied.

"Great! Littlefoot, can you and the others head there and grab as many of those blue herbs as you can! We're gonna need quite a lot!"

"You mean the really bitter tasting ones?" Littlefoot asked making sure he had the right ones in mind.

"Yeah! I'd imagine they'd taste really nasty. Go get as many as you can but try not to crush them. I'll need them whole."

"Okay!" Littlefoot nodded and sprinted towards the Grazing Pasture.

"Wait for us!" Ducky called after Littlefoot.

"I'm coming too!" Cera cried as she followed.

"Hurry guys!" Jason whispered gently as he watched Dinah and Dana snuggled up to their sick grandfather.

            Huffing and puffing, Littlefoot and his friends tore through the fields to reach the Grazing Pasture. The pasture was mainly used by spiketail herds and visitors to the Valley and it was home to some of the rarest plants to ever exist. Littlefoot skidded to a halt as he reached the furthest edge of the pasture. He could already smell the bitter scent of the herbs Jason needed for the cure. As the others caught up with him, they searched high and low. Strangely, whenever they weren't looking for the blue herbs they seemed to be everywhere but now they needed them, they appeared to have vanished into thin air.

"Over here! Spike finded them!" Ducky called as Spike's keen nose for plants led him right to them. Dashing over to where Ducky was waving, Littlefoot began ripping up as many of the herbs as he could trying his best not to soak them with saliva. Ali stood beside Littlefoot but wasn't helping to dig up the herbs that were embedded deep into the soil.

"Littlefoot? Why are you helping him?" Ali asked.

"Huh?" Littlefoot dropped the herbs he had gather in his mouth onto the floor. He was dumbstruck at Ali's question. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…I mean, he's not even a dinosaur! How can you trust him? How do you know he's not going to turn on you once your back's turned?"

"He's my friend! He'd never do a thing like that!"

"Yeah, but. How do you know though? What if he's a sharptooth but never told you?" Littlefoot paused as Ali's expression made him think of something he hadn't before. Could Jason possibly be a new breed of sharptooth? Maybe he only befriended him and the others just so that he could lead a pack of vicious sharpteeth to their Valley to feast on everyone. Littlefoot then shook his head in disbelief.

"No! Jason would never turn on us. He's no sharptooth, he's much better than that! He saved me from drowning once and from a pack of egg-stealers. He also rescued Dinah from the Smoking Mountain. How could you say that Jason would turn on us after all the good things he has done?"

Ali fell silent at Littlefoot's rage. She still couldn't place her trust in him for some reason even though she wanted to for Littlefoot's sake; she just couldn't. Littlefoot lost his rage in Ali's eyes that were large and glistening.

"Look, you just have to trust him. He knows what he's doing. Maybe if he'd saved you then you'd understand." Ali lowered her head which made Littlefoot feel guilty for shouting at her.

"Hey you two! This is no time for that! Hurry up!" Cera barked.

"I'm just worried that he's going to hurt you Littlefoot….that's all…" Ali whispered.

"I know Ali, but you just have to believe. Have a little faith…" Littlefoot reiterated what Jason had said to him a few nights ago when he was down.

            With a large bundle of blue herbs each, all six dinosaurs trotted as fast as they could back to the field where Jason and Cera's father waited. Jason was relieved to see Littlefoot and the others come charging at him with such a large portion of herbs each.

"We back!" Petrie cawed dropping the herbs into Jason's lap.

"Are we too late?" Cera cried as she raced to be by her father's side. He was now asleep.

"No, no! There's still time," Jason comforted her, "but the poison is beginning to take a serious effect. We have to hurry!" Consulting his book, Jason snapped the thick stems of the herbs and poured the blue sap into his drinking flask. The others helped by breaking the stems for Jason whilst he poured the gooey sap into his bottle one by one. Littlefoot gagged and choked as he accidentally snapped a stem and sucked the broken end.

"Uuucck! They taste awful!" he said spitting the herb's viscous liquid out of his mouth.

"I know. It's called an Alkali Litmus Herb," Jason said as he continued to pour the sap into his flask. "Its sap has the ability to neutralise the acid of the Ember Flower and cure the poison emitted from the barbs."

"You think it will work Jason?" Ducky asked a little uncertain about the outcome. Jason didn't answer immediately.

"Who knows Ducky, but we have no choice," he replied glumly.

            Once he filled his flask full of the herb's sap, Jason took one more leaf and prised open Cera's father's mouth. He rubbed a spare blue leaf inside his mouth to help neutralise the poisonous barbs that may have gotten stuck in his mouth and on his tongue. He began talking softly to Cera's father unsure whether he could hear him or not.

"Mr. Threehorn? I'm going to give you this potion. It's gonna taste a little bitter but it should help cure the poison." Cera's father didn't response so Jason walked around to his mouth and poured the blue potion down his throat since he was unsure that he would be able to swallow it himself. Once the last drop hit his tongue, Jason withdrew from Cera's father's mouth and stood up.

"That's the last of it…" Jason said, "All we can do now is wait." The silence that had fallen upon the crowd was agonising. No one uttered a word or make a sound whilst everyone waited for Cera's father to give a response to the medicine. Every second seemed like an hour as the giant triceratops remained motionless. Jason sighed knowing that the medicine should have taken effect by now. He felt defeated as Cera's brave yet desperate expression grew more and more distressed. She was gradually giving up hope. Cera laid her head on her father and wept knowing the medicine hadn't worked. Everyone sighed overwhelmed by the loss. Jason felt disgusted with himself for allowing Cera's father to slip away at his hand. He walked over to Cera who looked at him through tear-stained eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered barely audible for Cera to hear. Cera turned away from him.

"Just leave me alone…" she sobbed. Jason turned back and walked slowly back to his bag that lay at Spike's feet. He threw the bag onto his shoulder and glanced up at Littlefoot. Littlefoot returned his gaze but couldn't say anything. Everyone watched Jason walk out of the crowd and through the trees to reach the next field. Ali looked at Littlefoot but he didn't turn to her. What had started out to be a day of celebration due to Ali's arrival turned out to be a day of grief.

            Jason sat on the large rock he always past to get home and cursed himself.

"How could the morning get any worse," he reminded himself of his statement he had thought earlier, "I'm such damn failure! Why do I even bother to exist? Poor Cera. She's gonna end up an orphan…all because of me!" Jason thumped the rock with his fist in anger. Jason's mind tormented him with images of his friends hating him for his failed attempt. Littlefoot turning against him and loathing the sight of him. Everyone disgusted with the dirty creature that took an innocent leaf-eater's life. Jason just wanted to cry but felt that it wouldn't solve anything. Just as the thoughts made him want to die right then and there, Jason turned and saw Littlefoot bounding up to him.

"Jason! Here you are," he puffed, "you gotta come back to the field! Something's happened!"

"What. Don't tell me Cera's taken her own life!" Jason screamed making himself feel even lower.

"NO! Don't be ridiculous!" Littlefoot scolded, "Come on! You got to come see!"

Littlefoot gave a sharp tug on his jumper making Jason hop down from off his rock. Jason followed Littlefoot back through the woods to the field where Cera's father lay. To his amazement, Jason was greeted with shouts and cheers of praise. Completely dumbstruck, Jason wandered into the centre of the circle only to have Cera tackle him to the ground.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Cera cried overwhelmed.

"What?" Jason was still confused as he hopped up to his feet partially winded.

"You save Cera's dad Jason. Yep, yep, yep! You did!" Ducky quacked from Spike's back.

"I did what!" Jason still couldn't believe what he was hearing but his confusion melted away as he saw Cera's father standing tall, on all fours, fit and healthy as he was before he had touched the Ember Flowers.

"Mr. Threehorn! You're alright!" Jason yelled in disbelief.

"And it's all thanks to you Jason," his grandmother said in his ear congratulating him.

"Jason, I was wrong about you. You truly do belong here! Thank you for curing me of that nasty plant." With a shy smile and rubbing the back of his head, Jason said his simple catchphrase he always said,

"You're welcome!"

            The field was overjoyed that Jason's medicine had worked despite the unbearable tension that led up to Mr. Threehorn's miraculous recovery. The leader of Ali's herd bent down to congratulate Jason and also asked how he knew how to treat the poison.

"It's quite simple really. The sap from the Alkali Litmus Herb consists of elements that can counteract those present in the acidic poison of the Ember Flower's barbs. A natural indigestion tablet I suppose," Jason sniggered but forgot that none of them will know what an indigestion tablet would be. As the cheers continued, Jason glanced back at Littlefoot who was beaming at him. Smiling back he then turn to Ali who offered a shy smile. It wasn't an applause but it was good enough for Jason to accept as a gesture of a job well done.


	5. Part 4a: The Pain of Exile

Chapter 17: Fighting a Losing Battle 

            Jason had been with Littlefoot for nearly two weeks now and life in the Great Valley had definitely been eventful. Within those first couple of weeks, he discovered that the dinosaurs were not just dumb, gigantic lizards that just shifted from one place to another as he had read about in textbooks, but they were very sociable, intelligent creatures that enjoyed the peaceful surroundings that they inhabited governed by the simplest of laws. Well, the herbivores did anyway. In some ways, Jason was amazed at how very much like humans the dinosaurs were in their understanding of right and wrong, the ability to communicate verbally and their interpretations of the world they lived in such as "sky-water" referring to rain, "sharpteeth" being the carnivorous predators and even the groupings of different breeds such as "longnecks", "threehorns" and "spiketails". Still, Jason almost envied them for their simple ways of living compared to the seemingly overcomplicated rules that the human race had decided to choose. The social interactions between the different herds seemed to completely disprove the scribble in his history books describing dinosaurs to travel solely in herds of their own kind. Well, it was more of a half-truth than a complete and utter lie since the dinosaurs did tend to mingle with other dinosaurs of their own breed but the Great Valley itself operated as one big community that Jason found both intriguing and enlightening. Still, nothing baffled him more than Littlefoot and his friends shattering this concept completely since they saw past their physical characteristics as different species and joked and played together as if they were all the same.

            Ali's herd had decided to stay in the Valley for a time since their current pathway, to the area known as "The High Hills", was severed by a tremendous earthquake that smashed a couple of surrounding mountains causing massive rock slides. Despite feeling sorry for Ali's unfortunate delay of her herd's migration, Littlefoot was pleased that she was staying for a while until her leader could formulate an alternative route to reach their destination. Jason, however, did not feel as obliged as Littlefoot and the others. He could understand Ali's sheepishness towards him for being a new face but what he couldn't quite grasp was why she was either constantly ignoring him when he spoke or just generally gave him the cold shoulder. In response to this, Jason felt irritable and left out and to make matters worse, Littlefoot didn't seem to notice since he was swallowed up in the excitement of his wandering friend returning after what he described as an eternity. Everyday, since her arrival, Littlefoot was up, more bouncier than normal, to rush all his morning tasks of eating and bathing to meet Ali down by a small stream where her herd had decided to settle temporarily. Some mornings, Jason found Littlefoot's bed empty and cold as if he never slept in it at all. The only ones to wake him up were his smiling grandparents minus Littlefoot who would have departed, rather hastily, some time before. Eating breakfast alone was depressing as the one who had inspired Jason to try the Great Valley's local delicacy, the treestars, was not around to see him chew them, usually quite comically, and then joke about it all as they would normally. Somehow, Jason felt he was losing Littlefoot to Ali more and more each morning as he saw less and less of him everyday as a gripping feeling in the pit of his stomach slowed his pace to the playing field where everyone else were bumping and bashing each other over and laughing hysterically.

"Hey Jason. What took you so long?" Littlefoot chirped merrily having just tripped over Spike. Jason was in a world of his own as he dreamily stared as the ground with his hands tucked deep into his jean pockets.

"Jason? You all right?" Littlefoot asked standing up after kicking Spike off him.

"Huh? Oh yeah…yeah. I'm fine," Jason mumbled into his chest but Littlefoot was not convinced.

"What's wrong?" He ducked his head low to look up at Jason, trying to meet his hidden, brown eyes that were aimed somewhere between his feet and Littlefoot's.

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Jason said forcing a smile.

"C'mon Littlefoot!" Cera called from across the field. She didn't refer to Jason at all which meant that either he was ignoring him or she simply hadn't seen him.

"It is girls versus boys this time!" Ducky shouted with her hands cupped over her mouth to throw her tiny voice as far as possible.

"Be right there!" he returned. Before leaving, Littlefoot turned to Jason's saddened, melancholic expression which quickly transformed into the forced smirk again as soon as Jason realised he was looking at him.

"Wanna play?" Littlefoot nodded in the direction of the others who were becoming increasingly impatient.

"Nah. Rather not. You go on ahead," Jason replied. Littlefoot sighed defeated.

"LITTLEFOOT!" the crowd behind cried.

"Okay! I'm coming!" Littlefoot hollered back a little irritated. As he trotted back to join the friendly fray that had just broken out between Cera, Ducky, Ali, Petrie and Spike, Littlefoot gave Jason one last "you-sure-you-don't-wanna-play?" type glance but Jason shook his head. Instead, he slipped under a shady tree as a spectator but he quickly found himself yawning quite loudly. Before long, his eyelids became heavy and he slipped into a silent slumber.

"Jason…Jason…" a voice called making Jason open his eyes slowly. To his surprise, he was standing in a narrow corridor that stretched down so far that it didn't appear to have an end. The walls bore no windows but an infinite supply of red doors, spaced evenly apart, littered the corridor each with another red door directly opposite. A thin stream of fluorescent, halogen lights on the ceiling stretched down the endless marble corridor illuminating everything to the extent that the bright walls where almost blinding. Shielding his eyes from the glare, Jason looked down the narrow hallway to the glowing light at the other end.

"Jason…" the sweet, heavenly tone voice echoed down the hall again.

"Wh…who's there?" Jason called back, his voice quivering. The gleaming light made everything so uniformed that nothing stood out.

"Jason…" the voice continued to echo.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Jason replied but the voice ignored his questions and continued to chant his name in exactly the same, non-threatening tone without emphasising a single syllable. It was difficult to place where the voice was emanating from because the sound reverberated of the marble, tiled walls multiple times before reaching Jason's ears. The path behind looked equally as long as the one in front of him and the voice wasn't giving away any hints either.  Jason took a deep breath and gingerly placed an apprehensive foot in front as if something were meant to happen having he'd stepped the wrong way. To his relief, nothing happened and he slowly lengthened his strides to a normal walking pace. His trainers clapped noisily against the marble floor that swirled with varieties of earthly colours. One by one, the red doors either side of him slid past, each one looking identical in size, colour and all had the same circular, brass door handles. Even though all of them looked alike, the one thing that made every single door different was the solid, gold symbols that each of them had hanging about two or three inches from the white, wooden doorframes that kept the doors in place. Every symbol was different and none of them seemed to be even remotely linked to any humane constructed alphabet Jason had ever seen. Looking at them as he strolled past, Jason could not decipher them but couldn't help but wonder what secrets laid beyond them the sealed doors.

            In an instant, the ghostly voice stopped calling his name forcing Jason to freeze stone dead in his tracks. The silence made the corridor eerie and claustrophobic. Jason pricked his ears up to amplify any source of noise but the only thing he could hear was the blood throbbing at his temples. The heavenly toned voice he had heard before suddenly exploded and hissed almost serpent-like.

"JJAAAASSSSSSSSSSSOOOOONNNN!" Jason ducked at the sound as if a projectile had been launched at him from the other end of the corridor. The area fell silent again as Jason slowly rose to stand upright. He looked around to see if anything might have materialise in front of him but the corridor remained as bare and forsaken as it had before. Just as he was about to take another step forward, the voice hissed his name again. Jason stood firmly rooted in his position waiting for something to pounce. Nothing came forward. Then, the ground gave a horrible jolt like a wave had rippled the marble floor. Jason jerked up and down with the tidal motion as it hit him from behind. Turning to look where the tremor had come from, Jason gaped as a loud, collapsing sound echoed from the far end of the corridor. The tiled floor was quickly disappearing as it rapidly approaching Jason like a long row of trapdoors falling open. In a panic, Jason turned and fled down the corridor which still had its ground intact. The trapdoor type floor seemed to be accelerating as Jason tried to scramble away from the black pits the plummeting tiles left in their departure. The red doors zipped past as Jason sprinted past them unaware that the ancient, gold symbols were glowing an evil, blue colour. The corridor still appeared to have no end as Jason could feel his muscles slowly giving in to fatigue but the floor was drawing ever closer relentlessly. As he was about to give in, the collapsing sound came to an abrupt halt, as if the floor had read his mind that he had to stop. Bent over with his hands on his knees, Jason stood panting as he glanced back up the corridor to look as the destroyed flooring behind him that left nothing but a bottomless pit as an ultimate fate. Standing up and still breathless, Jason noticed the blue, glowing symbols on the doors. The curved, gold, archaic letters were lost in the malevolently, pulsating light. Jason, nervously, raised his hand up to the symbol but before he could touch it, it flashed and ignited with an unnatural blue and white flame with the ancient, golden symbol now glowing white hot at the centre of the licking flame. Jason snatched his hand away from the fiery letter as he watched all the other symbols on the doors ignite in the same way. Jason was completely perplexed. Was the hallway bewitched by some sort of bizarre black magic?

            Just as Jason tried to think of a logical explanation, the red door in front of him shook violently. Jason took a step back away from the door as it shook again. Someone was behind the door…or something… The banging and shaking became more frequent as if the thing behind the door was getting stronger. The doorframe began to splinter as the force of the knockings increased. Jason couldn't decide whether to run or not as the door was smashed open, flinging it into his face and knocking him to the floor with a mighty clap. As his blurred vision cleared up, a seven-foot creature leapt out from the darken doorway. Jason stared up at the human-like creature horrified to see its grey, boil-infested face glaring darkly over him with white, pupil-less eyes and dribbling saliva over its tattered, blood-stained rags. Its outstretched arms, aimed at Jason's head, were hideously thin with rotting flesh peeling of the dirty hay coloured bones. The zombie creature glowered at Jason and hissed, spraying its saliva everywhere. Still floored, Jason crawled backwards unable to break his terrified gaze from the zombie's icy, soulless stare as it shuffled unsteadily towards him. Jason bumped backwards into the door opposite now realising he had nowhere to go. His throat felt dry as he swallowed hard continuing to watch the zombie slowly descend upon him. With the zombie now at his feet, Jason felt the door behind him take a thump. The zombie stopped in response to the sound that rang down the corridor and gazed up at the door. Before he could move, Jason felt the door fly open, pushing him aside in its flight as a lizard-type mutant leapt out from the darkness. It stood on its hind legs with a hunched back but its body was covered in scales that looked like they belonged to either a snake or a dinosaur but the way it looked, it seemed to resemble a velociraptor. Most worrying feature of all where the grossly elongated claws on the end of every finger and toe that appeared to be artificially added rather than naturally developed. Jason watched the raptor-looking creature jump up and slash as the zombie, severing its head from the rest of its body in one swift slice. The decapitated zombie fell in a heap at Jason's feet as the mutant let out a blood-curdling roar of triumph.

            Shaking with fear, Jason wasted no time in jumping to his feet and ran, full speed, down the corridor in a desperate bid to escape. The mutant turned and followed Jason's path down the hall and quickly gave chase. Not daring to look back, Jason continued to flee down the corridor as more of the red doors burst open and more mutants trudged out from their dark prisons. Jason's attempt to out run the creatures came to a sudden stop as the doors in front of him began to release more zombies and other grotesque creatures that now stood blocking his path. The decaying flesh of the zombies and raptors lingered in the air as they closed in on him from both sides. Fighting them would be impossible and chances of escape were even slimmer as they began to pile on top of him. Jason shrank into a tight ball and buried his head in his arms awaiting the creatures to sink their teeth and claws into his flesh. Strangely enough, the mutants paused over him in response to a tremendous shudder that shook the entire corridor. The raptors and other creatures squealed as if in pain and the zombies stared gormlessly around. Jason lowered his arms hesitantly and looked up at the mutants who seemed to have forgotten that he was there. A second thunderous rumble shook the corridor forcing the raptors to flee in both directions. The zombies stood staring at the white walls trying to find what was causing the noise but the tight circle remained around Jason preventing any means of escape. The third rumble quickly followed the second and a fourth followed as promptly as the last. The sounds emitted gave the impression that something very big was running as the intervals between the bangs were shortening. Before Jason could concentrate, a loud, deafening noise echoed down the hall as if to mimic a train's whistle. The thunderous booming grew louder and a blinding white light filled the corridor, engulfing every single organism and Jason, who tried to shield his eyes screaming. Suddenly from the light, something called his name.

"Jason!"

"Arrrrrraaaaaggghhhhhh!" he screamed and lurched up. His eyes snapped open and there was a green flash. Jason's head hit something solid with such an impact that tiny stars appeared before his eyes.

"Jason…You okay?" a familiar, croaky voice asked. Jason blinked a few times to try and rid his head of the daze and bring him back to reality. He held his throbbing head as the pain seared through it.

"P…Petrie?" Jason gurgled, still recovering.

"Are you okay?" another voice asked, he recognised to be Littlefoot once his vision came into focus.

"Yeah, I think," Jason said but quickly held his forehead hissing in pain, "Man, what'd I hit? A brick wall?" Everyone exchanged a glance at each other and then all turned in one direction. Jason followed their looks and saw Spike clutching his head with his eyes clamped shut. In his fright, Jason had reared up and head butted Spike square in his forehead.

"Sorry Spike," Jason apologised sympathetically rubbing his forehead to ease the young stegosaurus's pain.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream?" Ducky asked. Jason didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to explain everything he had just seen but the other half told him to seal everything away, not to say a word.

"It's nothing. It was just a dream," he said finally realising all of them were leaning over him.

"It seemed pretty bad," Littlefoot said, "you're were tossing and turning like crazy."

"Yeah, you fidget more than Dinah and Dana do," Cera said smugly. Jason's brow furrowed as Ali giggled hidden behind Littlefoot.

"What was it about?" Ducky asked inquisitively but still concerned.

"It doesn't matter…" Jason said trying to avoid their questions and their piercing stares. Cera leaned over to Ali and whispered something that sounded like "he was scared" which made Ali giggled more. Jason could feel a hot, angry flush rising through him suppressed only by clenched fists.

"Well, if Jason says it's nothing then it's nothing," Littlefoot said shrugging, "c'mon, what are we going to do now?"

"Sheltering Grass?" Petrie suggested.

"Better not. Remember the Sinking Sands?" Littlefoot quickly reminded them about the quicksand that formed a murky moat before the tall, grassy fields of the Sheltering Grass.

"What about the Bubbling Mud?" Ducky then asked, "We have not been there for a while, no, no, no!"

"I dunno…" Littlefoot slurred, "what do you think Ali?" Something inside Jason jolted sickeningly at Littlefoot's statement. Normally, Littlefoot asked him about whether or not something was a good idea. He turned to Ali who hummed in thought.

"Uuummmm….Okay then!" She said with a happy little hop of excitement.

"Last one there's a scaredy-egg!" Cera chanted as she took off.

"Hey no fair!" Petrie cawed taking to the air, "You get head start!" The rest of the gang followed suit except Littlefoot who remained behind with Jason.

"Are you coming Littlefoot?" Ali asked, totally ignoring Jason who was still sitting under the tree.

"Yeah, just a second," he called after her. He then turned to Jason, "you coming?"

"Yeah…okay," Jason said slowly with a regrettable tone to his voice. He stood up slowly and watched Littlefoot chase after Ali laughing. Jason felt a surge of heated rage rise up him to the point where he wanted to spit in disgust. With a tight, upright stance, he trudged over to the woodland where Ali and Littlefoot had just disappeared.

Chapter 18: Boiling Point! 

            By the time Jason had reached the Bubbling Mud, everyone else were leaping into the thick, gooey mud, getting completely filthy. High pitched squeals of laughter emanated from the mud pool that bubbled like a thick, brown broth boiling in a witch's cauldron. Some of the bubbles lifted up and out of the pool like large, translucent balloons without strings and popped releasing a foul smelling gas that Jason recognised as some sort of prehistoric methane. Nevertheless, the six dinosaurs pranced about in the dark muck whilst Jason sat out on the side, not in the mood for anything he'd normally leap headfirst at.

"Are you not coming in?" Ducky asked from on top of one of the half formed bubbles emerging from the mud suggesting that either Ducky was extraordinarily light or the bubbles were extraordinarily thick.

"No thanks," Jason sighed just as Ducky disappeared into the mud having accidentally popped her bubble.

"What's up with him?" Cera snorted after a mighty splash that blinded Littlefoot with flying mud.

"C'mon Jason! You'll love it!" Littlefoot cried, flicking the mud from his eyes with a headshake but Jason stood still pretending he hadn't heard him. He walked over to Spike who was happily helping himself to some large leaves on a low bush. Spike smiled warmly at Jason who returned the gesture with a head stroke.

"What's his problem?" Cera grunted shuffling over to Ali and Littlefoot. Petrie and Ducky were in a world of their own.

"I don't know," Littlefoot admitted glancing up at Jason sitting on the bank next to Spike, "he's never acted like this before…"

"He's so miserable," Cera said blunted.

"He's kinda weird," Ali added which made Littlefoot cast her a dirty look.

"What'd you mean by that?

"Well…you said he was really fun and all but so far, he just seems to sit out of everything and sulks," Ali said matter-of-factly. Littlefoot couldn't argue with her. Jason had been rather apprehensive lately, refusing to take part in any of their recent games. He constantly seemed defensive and unsure about things when they were suggested when he had been so sure-footed and certain about everything beforehand.

"I…I don't understand why he's like this…" Littlefoot said trying to defend him.

"I reckon he's jealous…" Cera whispered darkly.

"Jealous?" Littlefoot and Ali blurted simultaneously. Cera hissed at them to keep their voices down.

"Yeah," Cera grinned rather sinisterly, "think about it. Before Ali came, Jason was fine and joined in with everything. Back then, Jason had you all to himself." She nodded at Littlefoot who blinked once or twice, looked up at Jason and then back around to Cera.

"Before you came along Ali, Jason was loving all the glory of being a hero having saved Littlefoot and Dinah."

"But he saved your dad when Ali was here, remember? The Ember Flowers?" Littlefoot reminded Cera promptly.

"Yeah, but I bet it was more of an attempt to impress Ali than to save my dad's life," Cera continued huddling close to Littlefoot and Ali, "anyway, I reckon that didn't go as well as he thought it would. Did he impress you Ali? Does it make you trust him anymore than before?" Ali paused wondering what to say next. She knew what her gut-reaction would be but she didn't want to hurt Littlefoot's feelings.

"Well…erm…"

"Do you trust him then Ali?" Littlefoot said almost pushing her. Ali was about to say something but Littlefoot could read her answer from her expression.

"You don't trust him, do you?" Littlefoot sighed.

"You see!" Cera whispered a little louder, "And now Ali has got more of your attention than he used to have, he's become jealous that you're not spending as much time with him as you are now with Ali."

"I think Cera's right Littlefoot. Maybe your friend is jealous." Littlefoot wanted to reply but he couldn't deny the evidence that Cera had pointed out about Jason's strange behaviour recently.

"Let's face it. Jason's jealous of Ali."

"There's no other explanation Littlefoot. Cera's right."

"Nice to see you've found a pleasant topic to talk about," a voice said sternly, yet sarcastically, over the three of them. All of them turned all at once to the bank where Jason stood with his arms folded across his chest. "Well…carry on. Don't let my presence intimidate you. Maybe I could join in at some point after you've stopped talking about me BEHIND MY BACK!"

"You were listening?!" Littlefoot exclaimed in shock. Obviously they had been talking and gradually gotten louder and not realised.

"Yes I was listening. Spike's chomping managed to subdue me for a while but it kinda gets a little boring after a while, y'know what I mean?" Jason said with ever increasing sarcasm.

"Hey! It's not our fault you're in a mood!" Cera barked jumping in.

"I'm not saying my mood is your fault but making wild accusations about me doesn't exactly help."

"You're just mad because Littlefoot's not spending as much time with you as before," Cera said taunting him. Jason shuffled uneasily but remained silent.

"You're jealous!" she then blurted out.

"I'm NOT jealous!" Jason replied hotly.

"Yes you are! Ever since Ali's been here, you've been moaning and moping around refusing to do anything we ask."

"You asked? Since Ali's been here, you lot have done nothing but ignore me and pretend I'm not there!" Jason protested. He then turned to Ali making her jump.

"Ali! Do me a favour and answer me one question," Jason's cold, hard tone made Ali swallow hard, "Why don't you trust me?" The area fell completely silent. Even Ducky and Petrie were now listening in on the heated argument.

"Well…" Jason barked impatiently after she didn't reply.

"Jason, I don't think you're being very fair," Littlefoot said taking a step towards him.

"I just want to know. It's a simple question. Why don't you trust me Ali? What have I done wrong? What have I done to upset you?" Jason's voice was becoming weak, almost as if he were begging. Ali opened her mouth but quickly shut it again as no words came out.

"All I wanted to do was to be a friend. I'm not a bad guy, really, but I can't just be pushed a side like that. Tell me. What have I done wrong?"

"…Nothing…" Ali protested.

"So what is it then?" Jason said but something suddenly snapped in his mind, "It's because I'm not a dinosaur isn't it?" Ali didn't say anything.

"…NO! It's NOT that…" Littlefoot jumped in.

"It IS isn't it? It's because I'm a human. A FREAK! An untrustworthy, two-legged, pathetic creep that has no feelings and above all…doesn't belong here! That's it isn't it?" Jason insulted himself with his voice quivering as if every word had been a knife stabbing deep into him.

"N…n-no!" Littlefoot cried, "That's not true! Right Ali?" He glanced over to her but she had turned away from him. Littlefoot's jaw dropped open as he turned from Ali to Cera and then back up to Jason whose chest sat high up on him in offence.

"Fine then! If…if I'm not wanted here, then…I'll…I'll take myself elsewhere. I'm sorry if I've been such a burden to you all but you don't have to worry about me anymore." He began strolling up and down insulting himself, making him feel lower and lower.

"Oh God, I'm such a prat for thinking that anyone here would want to be my friend. I thought I had friends and family here but how wrong I was…I'm such a fool…It was all too good to be true…It always is!"

"Jason…" Littlefoot sighed hurting at Jason's self-inflicted verbal abuse.

"For what it's worth Littlefoot…thanks but now I'll leave you in peace before I insult you and YOUR friends any further. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've put you through but don't fret it…you'll won't have to worry about THIS freak anymore…" With that, Jason turned on his heels and stormed out through the woodland that enclosed the Bubbling Mud, leaving everyone standing stone still with only the whistle of the wind through the trees to break the uneasy silence that lingered.

"Jason, wait…" Littlefoot called into the trees but only the rustling trees replied.

"GO ON THEN! GET LOST!" Cera shouted angrily, "WHO NEEDS YOU ANYWAY!" She snorted and turned her back expecting everyone to feel the same but everyone's expressions were pointing at the ground all baring solemn and guilty faces.

"Oh COME ON! Forget about him!" she urged the others to snap out of their glum looks, "He's not even one of us, so why should we care?" No one answered her. Littlefoot, Ducky and Spike were all staring as the path that Jason had just left through whilst Ali and Petrie looked at each other reading the guilt on each other's faces.

"Do you think he really meant what he said? Ducky asked slowly as she clambered onto Littlefoot's back.

"I don't know but he was really hard on himself," Littlefoot replied in the same soft tone.

"Where you think he gonna go?" Petrie asked, "You think Jason leave the Great Valley?"

"Don't know and don't care!" Cera grunted breathing heavily, "He can…get eaten by a sharptooth for all I care!" The group gasped.

"Cera!" Ducky said as she drew in breath with her gasp. She slid off Littlefoot and over to Spike who was choking on a leaf having just gasped and swallowed at the same time.

"How heartless are you!" Littlefoot cried in disgust, "If it wasn't for him, neither me, Dinah nor your father would be here right now. He saved us all yet you'd be willing to let him die out there on his own!"

"But just look at him Littlefoot! He's jealous of Ali and just because he couldn't get what he wanted, he stormed off sulking like a baby!" Cera was arguing on the last of her breath and had to inhale sharply to prevent herself from passing out, "You know what? He IS right! He's a two-legged, no-tailed freak that doesn't belong here!"

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" Littlefoot erupted to the point that he nearly launched himself at Cera for being so ignorant, "Jason has as much right to be here as we do! He could have easily deserted us when we needed help but he didn't. He's just feeling left out because he's different than us. All he needs is a friend to be with him…" Littlefoot suddenly remembered the discussion the two of them had had the night before Ali's arrived.

"He's been through a lot more than you know…he told me…but right now he needs our help." Littlefoot waddled awkwardly out of the mud pool, shook off the remaining mud that caked his body and started towards the forest. He stopped when he heard no footsteps following him.

"C'mon! Let's go!" He called to them but they merely shuffled their feet and didn't move. "Come on! Hurry before we lose him!" Cera gave another snort and turned her back to him. Littlefoot's eyes widened in shock as no one dared to move. "You're…you're not going to help me?" Ducky and Spike looked up at him with big, dreamy eyes, very apprehensive as did Ali and Petrie, but Cera remained facing the opposite way now with her tail stuck rebelliously in the air. Littlefoot frowned.

"Fine! I'll go find Jason myself then," he said thoroughly disgusted and betrayed. Turning back to his path, Littlefoot broke into a run leaving the rest of the gang in their sorrowful states (apart from Cera who remained rigid with her tail still propped, ignorantly, upright) and hoping silently that Jason hadn't left the Valley just yet.

            Upon reaching the Grazing Meadow, Littlefoot stopped to catch his breath and looked around to see if he could find any trace of Jason. Finding only members of Ali's herd and a few others, Littlefoot felt his stomach sink as if he had swallowed a heavy stone.

"Home!" he suddenly said to himself, "Jason has to pick up his 'brown-holder' first." Littlefoot's mind buzzed frantically as he took off towards his home ground, determined to get there before Jason did but something inside was telling him that it might already have been too late. Littlefoot skidded to a halt at his sleeping spot and looked desperately at Jason's tree. He sighed heavily as he saw no sign of Jason or his bag that usually laid at the foot of the petrified sapling. Littlefoot lifted his head and scanned the horizon hopelessly.

"Oh Jason…where could you be?"

Chapter 19: A Reversal of Misfortune 

            From the winding, dusty pathway that led up into the mountains, Jason stood staring down upon the beautiful landscape that had housed him for the past three weeks, the wind wrapping around him, picking up the dust and blowing it back down into the Valley as he sighed mournfully. Picking up his bag, flashbacks of the jovial moments of times spent with his friends flooded back like when they all poked and prodded everything in wonder that fell out of every pocket. Now, he felt used and unwanted like an old toy lost in a child's bedroom, forgotten as the next best thing rolled in to take his place. The images burned in his mind of everything they had all done together as he bit his lip to hold back any extreme emotions that could have burst out of him at any moment. Tossing his bag on his shoulders, he continued to walk up the dirty path up the mountainside, alone as he had been before.

            The heat from the sun was beating down on Jason as he trudged along kicking up the dust and watching it sweep away in the breeze. He felt his spirit crash dive into a crumpled heap as he remembered how he insulted and disgraced himself in front of everyone as Cera's words ate away at him. Was he jealous of Ali? Was he being a cocky show-off in front of her trying to impress her? Before long, he realised that he missed having company beside him but he felt so low and worthless that he could never return to the Great Valley no matter how many times he apologised. He had brought this on himself so he had to deal with the consequences of his actions despite how much he wanted to go back.

            After a few minutes of walking with a hanging head and a heavy heart, Jason came to the first of the Great Valley's natural defences (or last if you were approaching the Valley); the Great Wall. Upon closer inspection, the wall was in fact a mountainous pile of rock debris and rubble formed by what appeared to be rock slides from volcanic eruptions. It was clearly impossible for any carnivorous dinosaur to pass the Great Wall because there were no paths leading around it and their puny, unadapted forearms would never enable them to climb it. For a human, however, an awkward clamber up the rocky wall not a very taxing task as Jason demonstrated by scrambling up, slipping on a few loose ones and sending them tumbling to the bottom. As he reached the top, Jason surveyed the world that lay beyond the Great Valley for the first time. It looked baron and barbaric compared to tranquil, warm glow that seemed to radiate from the Valley. In the distance, Jason could see three, large pinnacles sticking up from a half-curved bowl of a mountain's summit. Jason quickly recognised this as "Threehorn Peak" where Littlefoot and his friends described when they raced Petrie's, now exiled, uncle to the crash site of the meteorite they had all dubbed "The Stone of Cold Fire" on one of their many adventurous escapades. Jason smiled solemnly at the remembrance of their story and thought about what it would have been like to experience everything they had said. With a quick blink to break his mind from his daydream, Jason slid down the opposite side of the Great Wall now knowing that it would be too late to turn back.

            Having walked a fair distance from the Great Wall, Jason came to the large chasm he had to jump whilst rescuing Dinah from the raging volcano. The chasm stretched as far as the eye could see, off into the distance in both directions. On the other side was a forest that lay past the Smoking Mountain consisting of gigantic redwoods that bore branchless trunks and canopies that looked out of reach for even the tallest of longnecks. There was no clear path directly across the huge chasm and there was nothing on Jason's side to use to bridge the gap. Peering over the edge, Jason could see a thin stream at the bottom after what couldn't have been less than a hundred foot drop. Jason backed away from the cliff edge, kicking pebbles and dust into the chasm. Just as he was beginning to think he'd have to turn back, Jason noticed the pebbles take an abnormal bounce off the wall as if they had jumped off an invisible platform. Taking another look over the edge, Jason discovered that the stones had rebounded off a small, slanted ledge that ran all the way down to the floor of the gorge. With an inquisitive snigger, Jason followed the dangerously narrow path down the chasm's side. Halfway down the ledge, the path became thinner to the point where Jason could no longer walk comfortably across (as if walking along a thin, crumbling cliff edge wasn't unnerving enough). Jason swung his bag onto his front, flattened himself against the wall and began to sidle to the right, still a fair distance up from the floor. The whistling wind howled making the drop seem much longer but Jason was determined not to look down fearing the view would paralyse him in mid-stride.

            The last third of the thin ledge was becoming increasingly narrower as Jason now balanced on his heels, pushed himself as far as he could into the wall, noticing that the path widened again just a few metres further on. A little leap of excitement swelled inside him as he took extended strides sideways in the hope of reaching the other side quicker. In his thrilled rush, Jason lost concentration and placed his foot on an uneven stone which rolled off the cliff edge. Jason gasped as his leading right foot buckled and followed the stone down into the gorge. With no place to stumble, Jason fell down wailing but stopped suddenly as his left hand gripped the ledge, saving him from plummeting to his doom. A cold chill shuddered down him as he glanced down at what would have potentially been a nasty end. Looking back up to the edge, he thrust his hand back up to reinforce his grip and began to shimmy, rather awkwardly, to the other side where he pulled himself up. Jason sat with his back against the wall, threw his bag off his front and collapsed flailing his arms and legs in a lazy star shape, panting in a cold sweat.

"Phew, that was too close!" Jason breathed wiping the sweat, that sparkled in the sunlight, from his forehead with the back of a dirty hand.

"Man, I never realised how well the Great Valley was protected." Jason shook his head, a little disgusted with himself for talking to the air, picked up his bag to cross to the other side of the chasm.

            Crossing the stream, with the help of some small stepping-stones, Jason climbed up the opposite side using a similar path to the one he had just came down on the Valley's side of the chasm. Puffing, with his hands on his knees, Jason looked up at the forest that stood before him whilst something vaguely familiar popped into his head about this particular stretch of woodland. Shrugging at his failure to recollect the memory of what was suspiciously disturbing about the forest, he continued onwards regardless.

            Jason was amazed at the size of the giant oaks and redwoods that appeared to brush the turquoise, sea-blue sky. The forest seemed wonderfully docile and calm as the wind rustled the trees pleasantly to break the silence. As Jason passed through the brightly coloured woodland to the other side, Jason furrowed his brow in confusion as to why he had remembered someone in the Valley lecturing him that the forest had be dubbed "particularly dangerous". Jason had managed stroll very comfortably through it without seeing or hearing anything but the massive, swaying trees. Giving another dismissive shrug, he climbed between a group of tightly packed trees and out into the open. After walking for a little while, Jason looked up to a famous landmark that the gang had described to him many times. A gigantic, naturally formed rock spire, wide at the base and narrowed at the top, that towered up, overlooking the forest he had just passed through and appeared to be staring in the direction of the Great Valley. The way the spire was formed, it looked like a giant rock longneck that everyone named "Saurus Rock". This landmark was supposedly enchanted with a curse of bad luck to any who broke even the tiniest of fragments off it and stood guarding the Great Valley just as the legendary Lone Dinosaur had done some time ago. Jason smiled as he gaze up at the marvellous spire thinking about how Littlefoot described yet another adventure about the Lone Dinosaur's supposed return to the Great Valley and how his friends had broken one the sharptooth's teeth that it wore around its neck like a medal of heroics, consequentially suffering a few days worth of mishaps and bad luck. Jason adjusted his gaze back down to its normal level, having developed a sharp pain in the back of his neck from looking directly up at Saurus Rock, walked over to the base and took a small stone that sat by what would have been its feet if it had been alive. If Jason was never going to return to the Valley then he'd at least like a souvenir as well as memories of his stay after all, the curse is must surely just be a superstitious rumour. Shouldn't it?

            The day was wearing on as the sun had just passed its highest point but where Jason was, no sun was visible through the thick, dark clouds that covered the blackened sky like a patchwork blanket. The area had become very dingy as if Jason had just stepped into a medieval dungeon. The once peaceful outlook of the forest had suddenly transformed into a murky marsh pit surrounded by eerie looking mountains that trapped the area in an endless darkness. All this dramatic change happened with about half a mile of walking from Saurus Rock. Jason has horrified by the numerous amounts of dinosaur carcasses and destroyed skeletons that lay sprawled, half submerged in the bubbling, stagnant water.

"Is this some sort of graveyard?" Jason said to himself as the pungent aroma of the sickly water drifted in the air like an invisible snake slithering up his nostrils. The swamp looked deserted as Jason stepped slowly over the water, on a bridge which was in fact a stegosaurus's spine supported by the long rib bones that dug deep into the black mud on the swamp bed. The sky threatened to thunder as Jason clambered up a few large, flat-topped boulders that must have fallen off the black mountains that loomed malevolently over him. The dead trees that were bent and twisted in bizarre ways looked like they could snatch out and grab Jason by the scruff of his neck. 

Crossing over another skeleton bridge, Jason stopped dead on hearing a blood-curdling screech shot out of the mist that floated across the swamp like a wandering poltergeist. Chills crept up Jason's spine as he tried to make out what had made him freeze in his tracks. Instead of seeing anything, Jason heard a moaning creak from directly below the bony bridge he stood on. Jason's head flicked around as the creaking grew louder as if something was threatening to strike at any moment. Suddenly, the bridge gave dangerous jolt and dropped an inch or two making Jason stumble. He whipped his head down at the diplodocus spine just as the ribs joining it made a sickening crack and gave way under his feet. With no other alternative, Jason could do noting but scream as he plunged into murky swamp along with the bones. Without daring to open his eyes underwater, Jason pulled himself up to the surface and gasped for the air that his cry had robbed him of before hitting the water. He spat out the foul, muddy water that had flooded his mouth and looked around. In his search, the ear-piercing screech that Jason had heard earlier rang out across the swamp. Jason looked in the direction of the screech through clenched teeth. The sound rang his ears so painfully he thought his head would split in two because of the extremely high-pitch.

            Jason's expression of pain instantly changed to one of sheer terror as he saw a long, snake-like creature slither into the water from the other side of the murky lagoon through the floating mist. A darkened silhouette of the creature swam effortlessly underwater to Jason's frozen position a few metres away. In a flailing panic, Jason splashed frantically to a grey, stone platform behind him. The snake-like creature crept silently closer like a tooth-baring submarine watching Jason's desperate thrashing about just ahead of it. The bank drew slowly closer as Jason panted and paddled as fast as he could to escape the swift moving serpent that was closing in. With a shaking hand on the rock, Jason turned to see the silhouette now at his ankles. In a split second flash, Jason yanked his legs out of the water just as the serpent reared up to snap at his feet. Jason held his legs high in the air as the creature's jaws closed around nothing and sank back into the murky swamp lake.

"Phew…TOO CLOSE!" he wheezed getting to his feet. Still panting, Jason fixed his bag in the centre of his back and wrung the sleeves of his jumper. Taking one last look at the bubbling swamp, he turned to the path of broken boulders dotted around that led up and out of the area. As Jason took his first step to jump to the next boulder, the surface of the swamp just to the left the rock Jason was standing on shattered frighteningly. Jason dodged the wet shrapnel and gazed in shock at the creature behind the watery curtain. He gaped to find the same serpent-like dinosaur standing on the rock, hissing menacingly at him. The serpent looked livid as it suddenly lurched forward at Jason. Just as quickly as it attacked, Jason took flight and leapt up to the next rock. To his dismay and horror, the serpent's webbed, scaly feet bore hideous claws that dug deep into the boulder enabling it to crawl over its surface with alarming speed and agility.

            Hopping from one rock to another, Jason tried desperately to get away from his stalker as it clambered from one boulder to the next, following his exact path. Jason jumped from his eighth rock to the ninth but under estimated its height above him, catching the edge with his fingertips. Panic-stricken, he scrambled up the rock face, barely dodging another snap of the serpent's jagged jaws. Hissing in frustration, the serpent continued the chase as Jason came to a halt at the edge of a gorge. The path continued on the other side.

"Damn it! What is with this place and its bottomless pits!" He cursed as the serpent pulled itself up onto the rock. Its tongue flicked around the scaly edges of its lips hungrily. Its black slits etched in its glowering, yellow eyes fixed unblinkingly on Jason; the fear on his face making the forthcoming kill even more triumphant. With one last flick of its devilish looking tongue, the serpent charged, full-speed, straight at Jason. Watching the serpent sprint towards him, Jason jerked backwards and took a desperate glance at the gorge. He swallowed hard at his insane idea and turned to the cliff edge. The serpent hissed and made a jump for Jason as, he too, leapt out over the gorge in the same second. Jason puffed hard as his body collided heavily against the cliff edge on the opposite side. At the same time, Jason heard the screeching of the serpent growing increasingly fainter as it plunged into the misty abyss.

            Pulling himself up, Jason collapsed on dusty path utterly exhausted and his heart hammering hard.

"Man!…These…monsters…are…re…lentless!" he panted, realising that Littlefoot hadn't been kidding around when he said that the Mysterious Beyond was extremely dangerous after initially thinking that everything outside the Great Valley was not as bad as everyone had said it was. Once he caught his breath again, Jason stood up, still wringing wet, and looked down into a rocky valley that sat at the bottom of the pile of boulders he stood on. Energy drained, Jason lowered himself down into the dusty valley wondering what weird and hideous creatures would be awaiting him down there. Strangely enough, Jason discovered that for all the rescues he had performed to save his friends and others, it was now him that was in trouble and needed a hero to rescue him from the perils that faced him. Laughing at the irony in his twist in fate and misfortune, he wandered down the path where things were about to get a whole lot worse…

Chapter 20: Jason's Inner Struggle 

            With his feet now firmly placed on solid, unbroken ground, Jason rushed towards a small pond to wash the dirt from his hands and face. The nasty smelling water from the swamp was now seeping out of his clothes as it evaporated. Down in the valley, the sky was clear and the sun beamed down on him making him unpleasantly hot and sticky. Jason removed his jumper and t-shirt and scrubbed them in the pond, watching the sickly smelling, stagnant water flow out of the fibres, polluting the blue-green water and turning it a muddy yellow colour. Wringing out his tops, Jason threw his t-shirt back on and tied his black, hooded sweater around his waist; he then paused to think what to do next. The rocky valley was just as deserted as the swamp with no plant life to be seen. Jason, then, pricked his ears up to the sound of what appeared to be running water. Picking up his damp backpack, Jason travelled in, what roughly seemed to be, the right direction towards the flowing water. Sure enough, the sound led Jason to a wide, fast flowing river that ran off into the distance in both directions. The sight of the crystal clear river triggered the thirst receptor in Jason's brain as he instinctively reached for his flask that sat in its own pocket of his bag. Thinking the water inside the flask might have been contaminated by the swamp, Jason emptied the flask's contents onto the dusty floor which absorbed it instantly.

            Jason walked over to the river and placed his flask in the cool water as the air inside it bubbled out to make way for the water. Once full, Jason cupped his hands together and slurped the pool he collected. Strangely, the water had exactly the same taste as that of the Great Valley's. Then, it suddenly dawned on him. This was obviously the river that fed the Great Valley with its constant supply of fresh, flowing water. He then guessed that if he followed the river for long enough, he'd come to the Thundering Falls and another breathtaking view of the Valley. Jason held back the temptation of wanting to see it again in case it made him feel even worse than he already did for leaving in such a temper without thinking. His stomach sagged and grumbled uncomfortably reminding him he hadn't eaten anything substantial for a few hours now but the dirty, rocky valley showed no signs of even a weed through the dusty ground. The gnawing sensation of his gut grew stronger and rumbled louder begging him to find even the tiniest of morsels. Trying desperately to bare the airy, aching feeling in his stomach, Jason decided to follow the river, away from the Valley, hoping that something may have sprouted further upstream.

            The river meandered its way up through the grey rock cliffs that gave Jason a paranoid feeling that the loose looking boulders could fall at any given moment and come hurtling toward him. Fortunately, no looming volcanoes could be seen on the horizon so there didn't appear to be any signs of danger from the local environment (although the spiralling dust that danced on the wind and in Jason's face could have been described as a choking hazard as he was constantly coughing to clear his throat of the dusty debris that clustered there). As he walked parallel to the calmly flowing river, Jason found his eyes locked on to the rippling reflection staring back at him. Something inside dropped somewhere past his toes as he tried to analyse the sorrowful look on its face and the guilt that riddled its posture as it slid uncomfortably up, against the water current, alone. Jason blinked to break the hypnotising glare of the reflection as the thoughts whirred around in his head and a gaping empty space that had formed somewhere inside. Everything he had described about the sorry looking, watery reflection translated exactly over to himself. Guilt-ridden, lonely and feeling sorry for himself after his appalling scene with Littlefoot and his friends replayed over in his head in amongst all the horrible emotions that seemed to be eating him from the inside out. Everything he had achieved in those few weeks of living in the Great Valley were all shattered and destroyed in the heat of a seemingly pointless argument over what Jason admitted may have been a fit of jealous over Ali stealing Littlefoot's attention from him. Finally, the images overpowered him and Jason fell to his knees overwhelmed. He had lost everything…again.

            Now on his hands and knees, Jason punched the ground in anger cursing and swearing at himself. After so long of being alone, seven long years after losing his mother to the man in the Red Phoenix Laboratories and miraculously surviving the blitz of London and possibly the entire country after the viral outbreak that claimed the lives of his brother and sister when they were so young. Seven, long, torturing years having to fend for himself with no-one to turn to and once he had re-established a home and even a new family, he blows it all in one go without thinking of what the outcome would have been. He thought he could handle the consequences of shooting his mouth off in front of his friends but he soon realised that the gaping hole that had burrowed deep into him was the empty feeling of loving and friendship Grandpa, Grandma and the gang had had for him despite being freakishly out-of-place. Despite his previous thought, he knew now that he had made a grave mistake. He was not as strong as he thought he was and he wanted someone beside him to comfort him. His eyes began to water from the crushing emotions and made him unleash a tremendous roar that echoed in the dusty valley and ran off into the distance. His knuckles were red-raw from hitting the ground in his rage as it seemed to be the only thing he could do to help him bare the pain and agony of yet another distressing loss.

            The roar of anger reverberated off the valley walls and reiterated itself. Once his echoing voice died, Jason, breathing heavily, sighed and slowly rose to his feet. He rubbed his eyes and sniffed the cool air that refreshed him a little before beginning to set off again. Just as Jason was about to take his first step, something made a shuffling noise. Jason froze in his tracks and looked around quickly trying to locate the source of the sound. Failing to find anything, he tried to take that first step again but he was stopped again by a louder noise that sounded horribly like tumbling rocks. Taking a quick glance up at the valley cliffs that enclosed the river, Jason could see nothing but a few tiny pebbles roll harmlessly off walls and into the flowing stream with a gentle splash. With a shrug, Jason was about to place his foot down to finally take his first step but his attention was suddenly drawn to the massive rumbling sound that shook the entire area. Horror-struck, Jason found the loose boulders he had been so paranoid about tumbling down towards him as he first feared they would. The boulders rolled down the cliffs and were making a beeline for Jason's position. With a great leap and diving into a roll, Jason nimbly dodged the falling rock as it landed with an almighty crash in river and sank down out of sight. A cold shudder ran down Jason's spine as the rumbling increased and Jason watched more boulders come plummeting down the valley cliffs ahead of him. If too many fell in front of him, they'd cut him off from his path alongside the river. Scrambling to his feet, Jason made a desperate dash to pass to giant boulders that were rolling towards each other but if they reached the river, it would form an unassailable dam leaving Jason with no where to go. Panting, Jason pushed himself to run faster as the gap was gradually closing.

"C-c'mon! Just…a bit…further…" he urged forcing every ounce of energy through his body. The hole was narrowing and Jason was still a fair distance from it. With one last leap, Jason dived for hole in the middle just as the rocks crashed together like a door to an ancient tomb sealing behind him. Gasping for air, Jason looked up at the path ahead and was horrified to see that the boulders were still falling. The tremors from the mighty boulders behind him colliding had set off even more boulders up ahead. Jumping to his feet, Jason tried to run but found himself dodging rolling rocks as if he were in a booby trapped crypt. Before Jason could get very far, the trembling sound of the rolling rocks stopped as the last of the boulders rolled into the water. Collapsing into a heap on one of the rocks that hadn't quite made it to the river, Jason looked up to check that no more were heading his way and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw all the cliffs were bare and chipped from the massive boulders that had rolled down them.

"Whew! That was tough!" he sighed wiping the sweat from his forehead, "What in the world could have caused all that?"

No sooner had he said that to himself, Jason winced at a blood chilling screeching that rang down into the valley where he sat. With a snappy head turn to the cliff edge, Jason gaped at what had just shrieked down on him.

"Me and my BIG mouth!" he gasped as he sat locking eyes with creature that was staring straight back at him. His mouth went bone-dry as the creature hopped down onto the damming boulders to glower over Jason as he crawled slowly backwards to distance himself from it. Jason couldn't quite place what the creature was but his worse fears were realised as it began roaring deep into the valley. Jason looked up, horrified, at the cliff edges as two more of the creatures peered down into the valley and roared in response.

Jason swallowed hard as he instantly recognised the creatures by their sickeningly massive toe claw that arched, dominantly over the rest.

"…Velociraptors!"


	6. Part 4b: True Courage Will Shine

Chapter 21: The Raptors' Hunt 

            The raptors that stood on the cliffs hopped nimbly down onto the great boulders that dammed up the river, restricting its flow to the other side. Hungrily they glared down on Jason flashing their serrated, white teeth intimidatingly filling him with more dreaded thoughts of how they were going to feast on his flesh. Jason observed them with wide eyes not letting a single muscular twitch escape his view in case any one of them decided to pounce without warning. The three raptors were constantly nodding and screeching at each other as if to be talking to one another but he constantly found one of them watching him with a paralysing stare threatening, enforcing that Jason stay exactly where he was and not to try anything rash. Jason happily obliged fearing that he'd be losing a limb if he did.

            For a time, none of the raptors appeared to be in the right frame of mind to actually attack but nevertheless, Jason decided that a hasty retreat would probably be exactly the response they'd want to begin a chase that he could not hope to win against one of the most well known carnivores next to the famous tyrannosaurus rex. Still, Jason needed a plan since it was only a matter of time before the raptors came down to finish him off. His mind raced with possible means of escape without drawing too much attention, keeping in mind that he was constantly under surveillance by the central raptor that stood towering over the other two who were either side of it. This particular raptor must have been the leader of the pack. Jason fumbled his hand in the dirt to aid his burning brain as he rejected one idea after another thinking that death would seize him in a blink of an eye and the slash of a bloodstained toe claw. As horrible images of him lying mangled in a bloody puddle burned into his mind, Jason flinched slightly as his fingers past over something sharp. With a quick glance, Jason saw a sharp rock fragment that must have broken off one of the tumbling boulders. Carefully, Jason, as discreetly as possible, clasped his fingers around the flint and held it tight. He had one chance to extend his time to escape. If he could hit the leading raptor, or at least injure it, the other two would come to its aid giving him a chance to slip away unnoticed and hide somewhere. But he only had one shot so it was all or nothing. The moment was intensifying, but he had to strike soon otherwise he'd never get away. Still, Jason was waiting for the perfect moment to launch his attack but so far it hadn't come. His nerves were running raw as the pumping adrenaline made him edgy but he tried hard to fight the urge to just fire randomly. He knew that the moment would come…

"C'mon…c'mon…hurry up…turn…turn…" he edged in a whisper.

            The raptors were now chattering in some strange language of squeals and shrieks. They looked ready to pounce, Jason sensed he was running out of time but his moment hadn't come yet. Then, one raptor turned to the leader…the second turned to its leader…then, the leader turned in response…something then snapped in Jason's head.

"NOW!"

Jason launched the flint directly at the leading raptor, who quickly readjusted its focus onto him. Jason sat transfixed on the flying stone as it cut through the air and straight for its target…it was about to strike it right between the eyes. In a blink, Jason expression switched from determination to one of sheer horror. The raptor had ducked the flint and it sailed clear off over the boulders where it landed harmlessly with a clank on the rocks on the other side.

"Damn! It missed!" Jason cursed just as the leading raptor snapped around and hissed disgusted at Jason's attempt to harm it. The raptor leapt down off its boulder and landed heavily throwing water up from the slowly filling pool that had formed at the base of the dam. The raptor roared furiously at Jason as he back up as far as he could before bumping into a rock. The raptor was scowling at him threatening to seize him but it stood, firmly rooted on the riverbank just staring him straight in his eyes provokingly. Jason couldn't see a way out of his predicament as he silently cursed himself again for acting without thinking of the consequences if all else failed but what frightened him even more was that this time he couldn't simply walk away. Another hasty move would cost him his life.

            The deadlocked gaze between Jason and the raptor was prolonged by the menacing screeches it made making sure he didn't move a muscle. Jason couldn't remove his eyes from the leader no matter how hard he tried. Its cold, murderous stare was hypnotising as his very existence hung in the balance. Suddenly, the leader roared for some reason that Jason couldn't understand but it was enough distraction for him to break out of his frozen position at the mercy of the rabid carnivore. As his sight came back into focus, Jason quickly noticed that the two other raptors that were on top of the damming boulders had disappeared. The leader continued to roared deafeningly into the clouds, totally ignoring Jason's presence merely metres from its own feet. Jason was completely perplexed by the leader's strange behaviour but something from the back of his mind suddenly took a giant leap forward. 

"Wait a second…Raptors hunt in packs… they use strategies to hunt…" Jason thought aloud trying to rush his memory of his school years although he failed to notice that the leader suddenly stopped. "One subdues the prey by staring at it…whilst the others…!!!" Jason paused in mid-thought as the most vital part of information suddenly resurfaced, "ATTACK FROM BEHIND!!!"

            Whirling around, Jason caught the two raptors in mid-flight as they attempted to leap on his back. With no time to think anymore, Jason rolled to the side just as the two sailing raptors collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground in a heap. Jason glanced up quickly and saw the two raptors struggling to untangle each other from one another but to his shock, the leader had leapt onto him and pinned him to the rocky floor. Horrified to find himself staring directly into the beast's mouth, Jason gave a shriek as the leader roared over him, ready to sink its teeth into his torso. Jason slammed his eyelids shut unable to watch his cruel fate about to be unleashed upon him. To his amazement, he heard a deafening, high-pitched squeal of pain. Opening his eyes slowly, Jason saw the leading raptor shaking its head where one of the squirming sidekick raptors had slapped it in the face with its tail. Taking this golden opportunity, Jason folded his legs back and shoved them upwards into the beast's belly as it stood dazed over him. The force of the blow knocked the raptor staggering backwards until it tripped on a stone and fell to the ground.

            Not wasting another second, Jason leapt to his feet and sprinted away from the three sprawling raptors knowing that as soon as they righted themselves, they would be after him. Jason knew full well he could never outrun a dinosaur so specially designed for speed but at least he could get a good distance from them before they hunted him down. In the few metres he had covered, he could already hear the raptors' roars and hurried footsteps heading right for him. Running was no good…he had to hide. In his dash, Jason spotted a small hideout formed from fallen rocks. In between the rocks was a little hole where Jason decided was his only chance of losing his predators. He clambered inside the small crevice and tried to control his heavy breathing. The tiny area made his breaths echo a little too loud to be discreet and the raptors were closing in fast. As they appeared, Jason held his breath having just seen the raptors stop to investigate the area. They obviously knew that he was around since there was very little that could outrun a velociraptor. They began sniffing the air and listening for any signs of Jason. Jason, however, was nervously racking his brain for more information on the raptors that he had learned what seemed like centuries ago. What was it that the raptors specialised in besides their incredible speed and agility? Was it their sense of hearing? Or was it a keen sense of smell? Suddenly, he froze as one of the raptors past right in front of the mouth of the crevice he was hiding in. It stopped abruptly making Jason flinch…had it sensed him?

            The raptor sniffed the air peculiarly which made Jason panic. If it was a keen sense of smell, then it was highly likely that it could smell fear as the majority of carnivorous creatures could. Jason shrunk back as far as he could into the shadows of the little cave as the raptor continued to smell the air for a scent. It obviously hadn't sniffed him out otherwise he'd be a three-course meal by now. Failing to find anything, the raptor walked away from the cave enabling Jason to stretch out from his tight ball he had rolled himself into. His relief was short-lived as the second raptor strolled in front of the crevice. Jason shrivelled up again as its menacing face came into view. Unfortunately, as Jason drew his legs up close to his chest, his sliding feet kicked the loose stones on the ground causing them to rattle noisily in the claustrophobic, little hideout. Jason gasped quietly as the raptor flinched in response to the abnormal sound that shattered the tranquil outset of the flowing river. Jason now became worried about how sensitive the raptor's hearing was, wondering if his pounding heart was echoing in the cave at a pitch that was unrecognisable to him but at a perfect level for the raptor to pick up on. The thought made Jason fidget even more as he brushed past more stones. Jason's insides turned ice cold as the raptors glance suddenly shot into the crevice. Jason shrunk back as far as he could into the shadows as the raptor poked its elongated head through the hole. It looked around and sniffed once or twice. Jason was shaking uncontrollably which was making it harder for him to hold his breath. He pleaded silently that his heartbeat wouldn't give him away as he could now hear it pulsing in his ears and thumping hard on his chest. After a few intense seconds, the raptor pulled its head out of the crevice. Jason unravelled himself cautiously and was greatly relieved to be hearing the sound of footsteps trotting away.

            Slowly, Jason poked his head out of the hole in between the rocks peered out into the warm sunlight. The raptors had gone but they had disappeared a little too quickly for Jason's liking. Climbing out of his hideout, Jason stood pondering. At the rate they were walking away as their footsteps fell, they couldn't possibly have gone out of sight. That's when Jason heard a roar from the on top of a boulder to his left. The leading raptor was standing on it and was calling to its two sidekicks for assistance. Before backup could arrive, Jason, against his better judgement, took flight. Fearing they would lose their kill for a second time, the leader gave chase. Jason weaved in and out of the fallen boulders hoping that he could lose them in the maze they had formed. The raptor, however, had found a much easier way to keep Jason in sight, which was to leap from one boulder to the next. Jason heard two audible cries come from behind him which meant that the leader's two accomplishes had acknowledged its roar having relocated their prey.

            The slalom motion of Jason's sprint led him through a natural archway formed by two adjoining cliffs. With the raptors hot on his heels, Jason blindly charged straight through the archway but came to a screeching halt as he found himself at the base of a steeply sloped cliff face. The cliff bore no foot holes, only an old tree covered in vines right at the top, out of reach. Jason damned himself for his fatal mistake. He now had nowhere to go. He had intended to follow the river but his path through the boulders had obscured his vision of the river and he had strayed further and further from it without realising. Jason attention was immediately drawn to the great snarls of the raptors as they entered through the archway, slowly coming into view. Jason backed up against the wall knowing that escape was now impossible. The raptors daunting stature and glaring teeth re-enforced the petrifying status upon Jason's body as every muscle in him locked tight. The raptors edged forwards gradually, bathing in the moment and the fear that was etched into Jason's terrified expression. Jason found himself slipping down the slope as he tried to back up even further having managed to revive the feeling in his legs to move again. No luck.

            With the raptors nearly upon him and nowhere to run, Jason pleaded silently and thought.

"Why was I so stupid? Why'd I ever leave the Great Valley? I'm done for now!" His words brought no comfort to him as he took one last glance at the raptors who had paused a few metres from him. If Jason didn't know any better, he could have sworn he'd saw them almost smiling at him. Smiling malevolently. Jason slammed his eyes shut unable to watch. Just as the raptors were all about to pounce, Jason heard something rumble from overhead accompanied by a voice.

"LOOK OUT!"

            Looking up, Jason gasped as a number of boulders came crashing down the steep slope and headed right for him. In response to the voice, Jason leapt and rolled out of the boulders' path as they smashed into the rocks where the raptors stood, sending them sprawling. Jason whirled around to look up at his miraculous rescuer. The sunlight obscured his vision at first, but as soon as a cloud blotted the bright light out, Jason's face lit up with a joy he could not describe.

"Littlefoot!" he cried.

Chapter 22: Brotherhood and True Friendship 

            Jason couldn't believe his luck let alone his own eyes as the noble, young brontosaurus beamed down on him.

"I've been searching all over for you!" Littlefoot exclaimed overjoyed that he had found him at last.

"Hey buddy! How'ya been?" Jason smiled just as relieve as Littlefoot was. Littlefoot's expression suddenly turned serious as he saw the raptors scrambling to their feet again.

"Jason! Behind you!" Jason spun around and saw all three raptors roaring and glaring at him. They looked enraged and bloodthirsty.

"Littlefoot…help me out here would you!" he called up the cliff, keeping a watchful eye on the stalking raptors that were approaching striking distance. He pushed himself up against the wall. Littlefoot searched around for something to fight the raptors off. He had pushed all the boulders down so he had no artillery left. Then, he spied the dead tree with the shrivelling vine wrapped loosely around it. Snatching it between his teeth, he threw one end down to Jason whilst holding the other and in a mumbled sort of voice he yelled,

"Jason! Grab on!" Jason looked around just as the vine's end slapped him in the face. Without another word, Jason grabbed the vine and started pulling himself up the slope. The raptors saw their meal escaping and they all made one last, desperate lunge for him. Jason turned just as one of them made a slash for him. Jason winced as the attacking claw caught him on his left arm forcing him to let go.

"JASON!" Littlefoot screamed as Jason slid down the vine. Responding to his cry, Jason gripped the vine with his right hand and he stopped suddenly. Jason yelped as he saw the raptors snapping for him. Ignoring the burning on his hand from the friction, Jason held on as tightly as he could as Littlefoot began pulling him up the slope having realised his left arm had been disabled.

            Pulling him up little by little, Jason watched his predators yapping harmlessly under his feet. He began taunting them as Littlefoot inched him up slope.

"Ha ha! Pathetic morons! You guys couldn't catch a cold!!!" Then, something suddenly occurred to him. There were only two of the three raptors trying to snap at his heels. He looked around just as the leading raptor leapt off one of the boulders lying on the ground and launched itself directly at him. Jason tucked his legs up just as it collided with the slope and slid down empty-handed. Determined not to let him escape, the raptor swung a claw round and clamped it on the edge of Jason's jeans. Jason squirmed as he felt the vine being pulled back down as the raptor began overpowering Littlefoot who was straining to keep him up. Jason was getting agitated by his stalkers. He was fed up of running scared.

"Get the hell off me! I've had enough of you guys BUGGING ME!" he screamed in anger. In his rage, Jason swung his free leg around and kicked the raptor square in the jaw. The raptor jerked and released its grip sending it plummeting down the slope and crashing on top of its two friends. Feeling the lightened load on the end of the vine, Littlefoot gave a mighty yank and hauled Jason up to the cliff edge. Jason hastily leapt up the cliff edge but stumbled having not established his balance fully. He slipped on the crumbling edge and began sliding back down to the raptors. Jason tried to grab the vine again but the wear and tear of pulling him up earlier had weakened it as it snapped in his hand. He wailed as he feared he'd be back in the grimy clutched of the raptors and they'd waste no time in devouring him after the fight he put up until now. As he plummeted to the ground but he came to a choking halt as his jumper had tightened around his neck. Despite not receiving much air through his restricted windpipe, Jason was greatly relieved to find that Littlefoot had caught the hood of his jumper and was struggling to pull him back up.

            After a long, strenuous tow, Littlefoot finally pull Jason up onto the ledge where they both collapsed completely exhausted leaving the raptors to slither off empty-handed and muttering in defeat. Once, they reclaimed their breath, Littlefoot and Jason both clamped each other close.

"Oh Littlefoot! I can't believe it! You saved my life!" Jason said with his hands on Littlefoot's shoulders.

"Just returning the favour," Littlefoot gleamed staring deep into his eyes.

"It's so good to see you again. How'd you know where to find me?"

"I followed your tracks up to that murky mud-water but I took another path round. After that, it was sheer luck that I found you but I saw you get attacked by the sharpteeth."

"Well, I'm sure glad you did! I thought I was a goner!"

"Well, you've saved me twice already so I had to make it up to you at least once." They both chortled but Jason's mind suddenly killed his laughter instantaneously.

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked once Jason had stopped so abruptly.

"Littlefoot…why did you come for me?" Jason sighed. Littlefoot looked at him perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"I disgraced myself in front of you and everyone else…I acted like such a jerk…I was angry at everyone and yelled for no real reason. Sorry to say that if you came all his way to bring me back, you've wasted your time. I can't go back after that."

"About what Cera said…about being jealous of Ali?" Littlefoot asked trying hard to ignore what Jason said about not returning to the Great Valley.

"I dunno…it might have been…I didn't think I was but…perhaps that was it…"

"So are you jealous of Ali?" Jason felt silent and Littlefoot sighed, "I don't blame you for being angry because…well…" He paused wondering what to say. "You definitely are different since your not a dinosaur and all but…" Littlefoot was finding it difficult to express himself. He didn't want to shout at Jason for running away but felt he need to make Jason feel better about himself despite his great characteristical difference as a human being.

"Look. I don't think any littler of you just because your not a dinosaur but you have to understand that others might. I like you for who you are and what you've done for me and my friends and I'm sure they feel just the same at times but I think that Ali, Cera and others like them just need a little more convincing than me and my grandparents. After you stormed out this morning, I was the only one determined to find you again. I'm sure the others would have come too but they were just a little nervous. You just have to make them accept you for who you are."

Jason was dumbstruck by Littlefoot's words. He bowed his head almost in shame.

"I'm sorry," Littlefoot suddenly jumped in thinking that he had been too harsh on him, "I didn't mean for it to sound so hard. Did I upset you? I-I'm sorry I…" To his surprise, Jason smiled softly and shook his head.

"Not at all. On the contrary, what you just said made perfect sense…Thank you for your kind words of wisdom." His gentle smile slowly grew wider which Littlefoot returned with one of his own.

"C'mon, we'd better get out of here before those loud mouth ankle-biters regroup and track us down. They've been chasing me for this long so I doubt they'll give up now."

"Right," Littlefoot giggled, "let's go."

            From the path up on the cliff, Jason could see how Littlefoot had managed to follow him and remain undiscovered. The cliff was so high up, it was impossible to see anything up on it from down by the river. Jason was so relieved to finally have shaken the raptors of his tail but was even more grateful that of all the dinosaurs to come to his rescue would be the very first one that he had saved since his arrival nearly a whole month ago. Littlefoot was just as relieved to have found Jason after scouring every inch of the Great Valley and braving the unforgiving environment of the Mysterious Beyond. He was even more relieved that he had decided to come back with him as he could sense that somewhere inside he did want to return. Neither of them said anything to each other until they reached the giant, damming boulders that were still in place. The water was beginning to flood the entire area behind the boulders and as they passed it, Jason was shocked to see very little water flowing out the other side.

"Hey Littlefoot," he called as Littlefoot strolled right past without noticing.

"Yeah."

"Tell me something. Is that the river that runs over the Thundering Falls? You know the one Grandpa mentioned about being the main waterway into the Valley?" Littlefoot glanced down at the thinned river.

"Yeah. I think so. Why's it so thin?"

"Those boulders are blocking the water flow. Won't that seriously restrict the Valley's water supply?"

"You could be right. What should we do?"

"I don't know. They're much too big for us to move that's for sure."

"Maybe the elders could move them if we tell them about it."

"Sure…no wait! Won't they be a little upset with us that we were in the Mysterious Beyond in the first place?"

"Yeah, you may be right. But they've got to know though because it will be a much better for the Valley to have its water back even if it means we get into trouble for it."

"Can't argue with you there. So in that case, we'd better hurry back before this gets any worse." Just as Littlefoot and Jason were about to break into a run, Littlefoot looked ahead.

"Uh oh. The shortcut back to the Valley is blocked by rocks," he said turning to Jason, "What now?"

"We'll have to take the longer route down by the river and go back the way I came."

"What way is that?"

"Back through that swamp." Littlefoot looked as if he'd just been stung by a bee.

"You actually went through there? Wow! You must have been really brave!" he exclaimed.

"Not really," Jason shrugged, "just incredibly stupid. No bravery involved at all. I don't suppose you know another route do you?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"Well…then the river route it is then," Jason chirped hopping down onto the damming boulders with Littlefoot close behind.

            Feet now on the ground, Jason stopped and examined the rock's surface.

"What are you doing?" Littlefoot asked inquisitively.

"Thinking how we could at least widened the gap so more water can get through," he replied with his face right in the crack were the water was seeping out. He then picked up a stone and began chipping away at the crack hoping to open it up more. Littlefoot, who had had his head in trying to get a better look, turned to look up ahead. The sight he saw was not a very nice one. He prodded Jason in his side to get his attention.

"Cut it out Littlefoot. That tickles," Jason giggled. Littlefoot wasn't kidding around as he jabbed him a little harder.

"Hey quit it Littlefoot. I'm trying to crack this rock a bit more. Just a sec."

"B-bb-bu-bbut-but…" Littlefoot stammered nervously still nudging him.

"Just a second Littlefoot. You're beginning to get annoying. What's wrong with you?" Jason frowned but didn't take his eyes off the crack.

"We may not have a second to talk about…" Littlefoot croaked. Jason stood upright and looked at him annoyed yet confused.

"What do you mean by that? And what's with the face?" Jason said but Littlefoot didn't speak. His eyes were cemented to the sight he was still staring at, "What's up?"

"S-s-sss-ssha-sshhaa…" he stuttered unable to get the words out.

"What? What is it? Spit it out!"

"SHARPTEETH!" he finally shrieked. Jason whirled around to see the three stalking raptors he had just narrowly escaped several times earlier were standing in a line in front of them.

"Not again!" Jason wailed as the raptors roared triumphantly having corner both of them against the boulder, "These creeps don't know when to give up do they?"

"What are we going to do?" Littlefoot cried seeing that there was no way past them.

"I…don't know. They've got us pinned here."

The raptors were not taking any chances this time and approached them from all angles. Jason and Littlefoot glanced hopelessly from one raptor to the next as they closed in. They both then flinched in shock as a jet of water hit them from behind. Jason looked back to see that the crack in the boulder he was working on was growing wider and the whole thing was shaking under the high pressure.

"This is bad," Jason whispered to Littlefoot, "the dam's not gonna hold much longer." Littlefoot shuffled his feet in the cold water refusing to take his eyes of the raptors, especially the one to his left that was getting uncomfortably close. He was also concerned that Jason was abnormally relaxed about their looming doom that approached them. He was pushed up against the boulder with his hands behind his back, fiddling with something but whatever he was doing, the flowing water coming out of a small hole in the crack had stopped.

"Littlefoot," he then whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "when I say now, start running." Littlefoot was flabbergasted at what he was telling him to do.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me…" Littlefoot didn't know what to think. The raptor was close enough for him to smell its foul breath. He felt tense but stood poised to run on Jason's word. The leading raptor roared to order an attack.

"NOW!" Jason yelled at the top of his voice. With that, Jason shifted from the rock and the great pressure he had built up by plugging the hole shot a powerful jet of water straight in leader's face, temporarily blinding it. Littlefoot had taken off like a bullet from a gun on Jason's command. He had been worried that whatever Jason had planned, the raptor on his left would seize him before he got a chance to run. He was relieved that the shot of water had stunned it and he whizzed right past. In his hurried strides, he glanced back at Jason who was a little further behind.

"Don't look back! Keep going!" Jason yelled flapping at him once he saw Littlefoot slowing down for him.

"C'mon Jason! Hurry!" he called back. He gaped as he saw the raptors approaching fast. He was so engrossed in the sprinting raptors that he wasn't looking where he was going.

"Littlefoot! Watch out!" Jason screamed. Too late. Littlefoot stumbled down a cliff and rolled down the rocky slope bumping off every rock and stone embedded in it. Dazed and bruised up, Littlefoot looked up to find himself in a tightly closed pass with the walls too high to reach. Jason slid down the slope down to him a few seconds later.

"Are you okay?" Jason said breathlessly. Littlefoot nodded glumly feeling a little ashamed. Jason helped him to his feet.

"C'mon. We gotta get outta…" he stopped an gasped in mid speech as he saw the raptors sail over them and land a few feet ahead of them. They turned and fled back up the slope awkwardly, tripping on loose rocks and stones they kicked out of the ground as they bounced and threw themselves into the faces of the raptors. Upon reaching the top, they were horrified to see the raptors had beaten them up there. The two minions had jumped in front of them whilst the leader made sure they didn't try to double back. Now, they were completely stuck. Nothing to use and boxed in from both side.

"We…tried…so hard…Jason…" Littlefoot wheezed.

"Don't…give up hope…just yet Little…foot…" Jason puffed back but he couldn't see how they were going to escape this time. They had been extremely lucky up until now but now the situation look bleak.

            Awaiting the raptors to deliver the killing blow, Jason and Littlefoot suddenly felt a heavy shudder shake the whole area and making the little pebbles on the ground dance with excitement. Everyone in the area were paralysed with fear, including the raptors.

"What's that? An earthshake?" Littlefoot asked desperately. Jason didn't answer but looked up. The sight he saw made his jaw nearly hit the dusty floor. Two giant boulders were dashing madly straight at them. It had suddenly hit him as he then glanced at the floor which was very damp that they had been, instinctively, running in what effectively was a very wide ditch with a minute stream in the middle.

"We're standing in the riverbed!" he cried, "The river's just burst through the dam! Quick! Scatter!" Completely forgetting that the raptors were standing in front of them, Littlefoot and Jason dived in opposite directions out of the damp ditch and out onto the dry sides.

The raptors, cluelessly, did the same as tidal wave of water thundered down the riverbed, tossing the giant boulders into the walls as it tore down and into the tight pass and off into the distance.

            Jason got up and glanced at Littlefoot who was standing up slowly. He seemed to be in pain. The raptors, too, stood up and snapped around at the two of them and roared. Littlefoot looked at Jason and Jason looked back suggestively. Littlefoot nodded realising that they both had the same idea. With a short sprint, Littlefoot jumped into the river and Jason followed. As his head broke the surface, Jason waved at the raptors as they floated down stream.

"So long fellas! Hope you can dog-paddle!"

            Littlefoot paddled up to Jason, trying to fight the current but he found he couldn't. Jason was also feeling the current pulling him down a little faster than he would have liked. They began to struggle with the water, trying desperately to swim to the side where they could have pulled themselves out. Littlefoot managed to squirm his way to the edge and hauled himself out. Shaking the water off him, he turned an gasped as he found Jason still striving to get to the edge.

"Jason! Grab on!" Littlefoot called as he dangled his tail in the water. Jason didn't want to hold on to Littlefoot just in case he pulled him in but he had no choice. Thrashing with the water was draining him to the point where head was almost being pulled under. Littlefoot dipped his tail in as far as he could and felt Jason's hand clamp around it. He pulled with all his might but the raging water was making it difficult to resist not being dragged back in. His muscles pulled tight as Jason flopped his top half onto the riverbank and let go.

"You alright?" Littlefoot said as he tried to regain the feeling in his fatigued legs.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason said as he wrung his damp clothes.

"You think we've lost them finally?"

"Don't know. Probably not. I'd imagine they'd find a way round." No sooner as he said that, Jason looked up past Littlefoot and saw the very same raptors glowering over them from on top a high ledge.

"Oh gimme a break!" Jason sighed wishing he had kept his mouth shut.

"It's the sharpteeth again!" Littlefoot cried exasperatedly. The raptors hopped down from their high perch using the fallen rocks as footholds. Without uttering a word, Littlefoot and Jason fled down as their stalkers touched the ground and sped after them. The raptors were on them in seconds. Running was proving useless against such a swift moving dinosaur so Littlefoot and Jason stood locking eyes with them.

"We can't outrun them! What're we gonna do now?" Littlefoot said despairingly.

"We gotta get rid of them," Jason said boldly making such all three raptors were in his field of vision.

"But how?" Littlefoot asked.

"…Lemme get back to you on that one!" Jason replied smoothly. "_We could sure use a lucky break right now!_" he thought hoping it would come as if travelling on the wind. The raptors were getting tired of staring them down so one took a lunge at Jason who dodged to one side but was tackled to the ground by a second.

"Jason!" Littlefoot cried watching the raptors standing over him. He quickly realised what a serious mistake this was when the leading raptor pounced on him once he turned away from him.

"No! Littlefoot!" Jason called squirming under the raptor pinning him. Both of them were writhing to free themselves but the leading raptor roared deafeningly, freezing them stone still. With nowhere to go, they feared they would die in a split second but the raptors were distracted by a rumbling accompanied by a huge bellowing voice.

"Get away from our friends you good-for-nothing meat-eaters!" In that moment, the raptors leapt back off of Jason and Littlefoot and turned to flee as a number of large boulders rolled dangerously close to them. Failing to outrun the rolling rocks, all three raptors where struck and were sent flying into the river where they drifted down stream and out of sight.

            Jason and Littlefoot, who had rolled out of the way of the oncoming boulders, stared up at the cliff edge to see a parade of cheering, juvenile dinosaurs sliding their way down the cliff; one of which was flying.

"Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike!" Littlefoot exclaimed overjoyed.

"You…you came for us!" Jason stammered completely astounded but just as overwhelmed to see them as Littlefoot. They all danced and laughed as they both received welcomes and tongue licks from Spike. Jason was flinching but laughed as Spike dragged his tongue all over his face.

"Spike!…Easy boy!…" Jason giggled trying to shield himself from the friendly attack. Once Spike had stopped to move onto Littlefoot, Jason looked around but couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Hey, where's Ali? Didn't she come?"

"Yeah, where is Ali? Did her herd leave the Great Valley while I was gone?" Littlefoot added.

"Oh no, she did not go! No, no, no!" Ducky chirped merrily from on top Spike who had barely managed to maintain her balance as he greeted them.

"In fact she's right here," a calm voice said from behind Cera.

"Ali!" Littlefoot and Jason said simultaneously. She bowed her head with a shied smile and blushed.

"You came too?" Littlefoot asked.

"No. Ali idea to come look for Jason and Littlefoot," Petrie said as he landed on Jason's shoulder like a parakeet.

"It was your idea to come search for us Ali?" Jason asked in disbelief. She nodded which made her face grow redder. Jason was awestruck.

"And here's me thinking you didn't care…I'm…I'm speechless…"

"It's okay," Ali said softly, "I sort of understand now. A difference on the outside, no matter how…"

"Horrible? Ugly? Sickening?" Jason jumped in trying to be helpful.

"I was going to say 'unusual'," Ali giggled but continued, "no matter how different or unusual a dinosaur is…"

"Or human…" Ducky added happily.

"Yes, or human. They may still be a nice, reasonable person underneath what you see."

"So very true," Littlefoot whispered amazed but delighted with Ali's speech. Jason smiled warmly.

"But this still means you don't trust me though, doesn't it?" he said as non-threateningly as he could. Ali didn't say anything.

"Well, we can take it one step at a time I guess," he sighed but never dropped his smile so that Ali knew he agreed to her conditions for reasoning and at least she was trying to accept Jason for who, and what he was.

"How'd you guys manage to find us anyway? We were out in the middle of nowhere," Littlefoot then asked.

"Littlefoot footholes!" Ducky chirped and sniggered.

"And me from way up high. Me spot Littlefoot and Jason get chased by nasty sharpteeth so me tell Cera, Ali and others," Petrie said puffing his chest up, "we would have been sooner but everyone so slow."

"Hey! It's not our fault we weren't all born with wings!" Cera retorted angrily.

"Yeah, some of us are bound by the law of gravity I'm afraid Petrie," Jason said.

"The law of what?" Littlefoot asked naively.

"It's the force that keep us to the ground. Otherwise we'd all float off the planet!" Jason explained but laughed at the mixture of expression everyone made at this remark.

"We'd better get back home or our folks might start worrying," Ali said. She had subtly shifted her way past the crowd to stand next to Littlefoot.

"Oh yes, you are right Ali. We had better get home," Ducky said with a nodding head that nearly made her fall off Spike.

"What's the quickest way?" Jason asked.

"The path up there takes us to a mountain pass straight into the Valley," Cera started.

"You mean the pass that you blocked up when you cause the avalanche of snow?" Jason said remembering something about a pass they had used when they were snowed in.

"If you're talking about the white, ground sparkles then yes," Littlefoot answered.

"You mean Petrie made fall down when be flew into that mountain covered with the stuff," Cera taunted. Petrie threw her a dirty look and grumbled.

"But isn't that path back up on that hillside?" Ali quickly realised gazing up at the cliff edge they had just slid down. Everyone sighed.

"Well, looks like we are taking the long way home. Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky said.

"What way's that?" Cera asked almost regretting what the answer would be.

"The way I went I suppose," Jason guessed, "through that dark, eerie swamp between here and that redwood forest where Saurus Rock is."

"You went through there!" Cera said indignantly, "Are you crazy? We'll all be swallowed alive by the marsh pits!"

"Well, we've got no other choice Cera," Littlefoot said coolly. Cera sighed defeated.

"C'mon. We'd better get moving. If me and Littlefoot know those three raptors, they'll be back on us quicker than you can say 'treestars'," Jason said merrily taking charge of the group but he could help noticing Spike licking his lips at the word 'treestars' as they began to walk alongside the river and back to the Great Valley.

            Despite the unforgiving nature that the Mysterious Beyond had displayed earlier for Jason and Littlefoot, the group's stroll back to the Valley was relatively peaceful with only the flowing water to add to the abnormal, tranquil atmosphere that surrounded them. Nevertheless, Littlefoot was eagerly chattering away about how he followed Jason and rescued him from the raptors when they cornered him in that little gorge and how he bowled them over with the large rocks that sat on top of the slope that he hauled Jason up using the old vine. Jason, who was only half listening to the conversation, nodded now and again just to confirm that what Littlefoot was saying was true. The other half of Jason's attention was wondering off in deep thought. Thoughts about everything that had just occurred in what seemed to be a relatively short space of time. What struck him most was how Littlefoot had taken the courageous decision to come out and search for him after what appeared to be a pointless quarrel. Littlefoot was determined to find him and he did it alone. This made Jason wonder what drove him to do such a thing because he could have easily let him wander off into the Mysterious Beyond only to be mauled horribly by some cold-blooded carnivore and for what? A meaningless squabble unnecessarily fired up by heated emotions? This thought made Jason feel incredibly childish and irresponsible for taking such irrational actions for merely raising his voice. Still, Littlefoot made his choice to search for him despite how irrational his behaviour was and this made him feel greatly admired.

            Jason's mind then quickly turned to Ali and how Petrie had explained how it was her who persuaded the rest of the gang to come and look for them. This made the argument seem even more futile as Ali had been the driving force behind the reason why they came. Whether or not she had had in mind to primarily search for Littlefoot over himself didn't really matter but the fact was that timid little Ali had had just as much courage to want to go out and look for them. Also, her speech on how she was willing to accept Jason for who, and more importantly, what he was. Jason felt deeply touched and dignified that Ali had thought about him in this way. She may not entirely trust him just yet but trust was a factor that he could work on. Maybe he had just made a slight misjudgement on longneck dinosaurs having met Littlefoot and his grandparents who were much more willing to accept him; he thought that Ali would be the same. Perhaps he thought a little too generally about them as all being gentle and accepting in nature and that's why the heated discussion at the Bubbling Mud had seemed so much more painful and fired up than it should have been. As the thought of everyone coming to his and Littlefoot aid (and he nodded to verify Littlefoot's last statement was genuine), Jason's mind then suddenly snapped on something he hadn't thought before. Driven more so by Littlefoot's choice to come find him, they obviously had feelings for him. There was something emotional about Littlefoot's decision to come and search for him that was far beyond mere pity. It was showing in the others as well (maybe not so much in Cera but he was told that threehorns were generally like that; not to display emotions and to be stone-cold), they genuinely cared about what happened to him and were worried that he might get hurt or even worse as the overjoyed scene of their impeccable timing to rescue the two of them from the raptors replayed mentally. Jason suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of deep feeling for the group. They obviously had feelings for him that he could now see was displayed by their daring rescues. A feeling of want, faith and above all, friendship. They cared for him as a friend. Jason suddenly felt a great swelling inside as the gaping hole that had bore into him as he began his solitary voyage out into the unknown was automatically refilled by this feeling. The warm glow it emitted made him smile and drift off somewhere far away. It was only by the sound of someone calling his name that he came back down to earth.

"Jason?…Jason?…" the voice called him.

"Huh?" he murmured snapping back to reality. Littlefoot had been calling him.

"You okay?" Petrie asked slightly concerned.

"Oh yeah! I was just daydreaming, that's all. So erm…what's up?"

"Wasn't it true that we had to jump out of the way of those huge rocks as they came rushing towards us on the fast flowing water?" Littlefoot exclaimed hyperactively.

"Oh! Yeah, that was true," Jason said coolly. Petrie and Ducky wooed in amazement.

"So how did you escape that time then?" Ali asked.

"We had to jump into the river and swim to the side further down but then Jason couldn't reach the edge so I had to…" Littlefoot hurried.

"Whoa! Breathe Littlefoot! No rush!" Jason said placing his hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down.

"Sorry. Got a little excited," Littlefoot smiled, "but I still can't get over how those sharpteeth kept on coming back,"

"I know. They were unreal weren't they?" Jason said smoothly.

            The story of their many escapes made the journey time back to the dark swamp seem non-existent. Even so, the sun was slowly descending as the sky began to turn a hazy orange bring a dull, dusk light to the area.

"That's the way I came from, up there," Jason pointed up the crumbled rocks where he hopped down to meet the river. He then remembered something he had thought of earlier.

"Hey guys. This is the river that flows right into the Great Valley isn't it? I mean, the one that becomes the Thundering Falls right?"

"Uh huh. That is does, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chattered.

"Thought as much."

"Why? What you getting at?" Cera asked curiously.

"Nothing. I was just wondering that's all…" Jason was cut off by a tremendous echoing that made them all cringe.

"What that?" Petrie cried, raising his head slowly once the reverberation disappeared.

"Uh oh!" Littlefoot said slowly, "It's them again."

"Who?" Ali and Cera said after straightening their legs fully.

"The raptors! Yet again," Jason whined and then ducked as another blood-curdling roar came into earshot. Sure enough, the entire group swivelled around to see the three stalking raptors, battered and bruised standing a couple of yards from them. They looked too weary to attack but they lifted their heads up high and roared in a peculiar way that jogged a horrible memory in Jason's head he had learned a long time ago.

"What are they doing?" Ducky asked not sure whether to be interested or terrified.

"This is bad! We've gotta get outta here right now!" Jason warned and made a start for the rocks they had to scale to get to the swamp. As he climbed the first rock, Jason looked up and leapt backwards back to the ground having nearly lost his head to a swinging claw. He dashed back to the group who stood horrified at the sight they lay in front of them. Jason looked in their direction and he gave a quiet yelp. An entire army of raptors stood in front them poised to attack. They emerged from behind rocks and along the cliff edges like a legion about to storm a castle, blocking their route into the swamp. There were easily twenty of them if not more.

"This must be the entire pack," Jason said.

"We're surrounded!" Ali cried hopelessly, "What are we gonna do?" Everyone turned to Jason who flinched in shock.

"What're you all gawking at me for!"

"C'mon Mr. Giant Brain! You said humans were supposed to be the most clever creatures in the world so think of something!" Cera commanded as the raptors all began to descend on them from all sides. They began to back up slowly as they approached.

"Whatever you do, don't run! They're too fast!" Jason forewarned.

"But what can we do? We'll all be sharptooth bait in a flash!" Littlefoot exclaimed despairingly.

"A flash?" Jason then said quietly, "A FLASH! That's it! Why didn't I think of this before?" He quickly flicked his bag around and pulled the flash-bang capsules out of one of the side pockets he had swiped from his mother's desk drawer back at the Red Phoenix Labs ruins.

"I knew these would come in handy!"

"What are those?" Petrie asked temporarily forgetting that bloodthirsty raptors stood only a few feet away.

"Right guys! When I say now, cover your eyes! Whatever you do don't open them until I say," Jason ordered snapping a capsule out of its holder and holding it threateningly high. 

"NOW!" The group shut their eyes tight on Jason's yell as he threw the capsule at the raptors' feet. On impact, the capsule erupted and a bright flash of white light shot out engulfing them all. The raptors squealed in pain as their stinging eyes reacted to the blinding flash.

"Run for it!" Jason shouted and turned to flee down alongside the river. The group snapped their eyes open and quickly followed Jason after a short, puzzled glance at the squirming raptors as they bumped into each other blindly.

"What did you do?" Littlefoot called having just caught up with him.

"Flash-bang capsules," Jason replied between breaths, "A friend of mine gave them to me from a joke shop. Gives off a blinding flash that leaves the victim stunned for a few seconds."

Petrie, from on top of Jason's bag, glanced back and let out a panic-stricken yell.

"Sharpteeth coming! Sharpteeth coming!"

"Don't look back! Keep running!" Littlefoot shouted. The blinding effect obviously still lingered on the raptors as some of them fell in the river and others bumped into each other, tripping themselves over.

"Look!" Ali called. Everyone looked up ahead.

"The Great Valley!" Jason said in awe. They all came to a sudden stop as they approached the peak of the Thundering Falls.

"Damn! A dead end," Jason cursed.

"Dead is right!" Cera cried as the raptors stopped a little from them.

"What now! We're done for!" Ali whined. Jason looked at Littlefoot and Littlefoot looked back at him. They knew they had the same thought in mind but they didn't know how the others would take it.

"Err…guys? I dunno how suicidal you're all feeling right now but erm…" Jason spoke as calmly as he could.

"What? What're you babbling about!" Cera demanded as the raptors closed in forcing them back even further.

"We've got to jump!" Littlefoot barked as plainly as he could.

"Are you mad? We'll all be killed!" she cried exasperatedly.

"Not true. If the water's deep enough, we could all just splash down in the pool under the waterfall," Jason tried to reassure.

"How deep is the water?" Ali asked worryingly. Jason turned to Littlefoot.

"Well, Grandpa can only just stand in it without having to swim," Littlefoot said now wondering if his grandfather could actually swim or not.

"I say you're still insane! We should fight them," Cera suggested.

"Cera! We're stupidly out-numbered! We gotta jump or we're dead meat!" Jason shouted urgently with the raptors now nearly upon them.

"C'mon! We got to jump now!" Jason had now worked up enough courage to insanely want to leap down the falls but he wasn't leaving until the rest of them had. They had now run out of room. Side by side, they all turned to look down the Thundering Falls which didn't help to raise any confidence levels in anyone. A roar sounded from behind them and they glanced back to see the raptors about to attack.

"On three!" Jason said.

"One…" The raptors stood poised.

"…Two…" they bent down to pounce.

"…THREE!" With a mighty leap, Petrie and the six, gravity-bound others launched themselves off over the falls just as the fleet of raptors landed where they were a split second ago. With wailing screams, they all flipped and somersaulted down, constantly gaining speed. Four, heart stopping seconds after their brave jump, all six of them landed in the pool under the waterfall each with their own tremendous splash. One by one, they resurfaced and paddled to the side where they all collapsed coughing and spluttering with Petrie following gracefully. Once they reclaimed their breath, they all looked up at the Thundering Falls against the darkening sky and the incredible distance that they had just plummeted.

"Phew. That was too close!" Littlefoot panted standing up.

"Cool! Let's do that again!" Jason danced hyperactively.

"You really are nuts aren't you?" Cera screamed completely horror-struck that she had jumped at all. Ali and Ducky were laughing at Jason as he shrugged dismissively.

"What a day," Petrie sighed sprawled out on Spike's back.

"Just another day in the realm of the dinosaurs I suppose," Jason laughed. The others quickly joined him. Their laughter was stopped by a couple of familiar voices.

"There you children are," Grandma Longneck called out to them as she appeared from behind a tree as did Grandpa Longneck and the rest of their parents. Everyone glanced at one another and made a silent oath that they wouldn't say anything about today to their elders.

"Spike, Ducky. Time for bed dears," their mother saurolophus called to them.

"Petrie, bedtime," his mother cawed from over head.

"Hiya Cerie. Dinah, Dana sleepy-sleepy," the twins chirped in unison accompanied by a large yawn each.

"You heard 'em Cera," her father bellowed sweetly. She smiled and offered a yawn of her own. Everyone said goodnight to each other and disappear through the trees home. Littlefoot, Jason and Ali all looked at each other.

"So what have you children been up to today then?" Grandpa Longneck asked the three of them.

"Oh nothing much," Jason said with a smug smile.

"Yeah, nothing exciting," Littlefoot added with a similar little smirk. Ali giggled silently.

"Well, it's time for sleep," Grandma Longneck said softly.

"Okay Grandma. We'll walk Ali back to her herd first then we'll be right home," Littlefoot said.

"Alright then, but don't be long," Grandpa Longneck said pleasantly.

"Come on Ali, let's go," Littlefoot said as he led the way back to Ali's herd's spot down by the stream.

Chapter 23: A Confession at Twilight 

Making their way back silently, Ali looked up at Littlefoot and then at Jason. Jason caught her gaze from the corner of his eye and got the impression she wanted to say something.

"You okay Ali?" he asked just to make sure.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled sheepishly as Littlefoot looked up as well.

"Ali…" Jason said softly as if almost embarrassed, "I…I never got the chance to thank you. For…understanding…" Ali was a little stunned but accepted the thankfulness.

"If I said anything that hurt you, you know, when we were at the Bubbling Mud? I didn't mean anything. I was…just…a bit…distant that's all." They all stopped as Jason explained himself.

"The remark that Cera said about being jealous of you…she was right…I was stubborn and inconsiderate to you because I thought you were going to take Littlefoot from me…you see…I've never been in a family before since my mother past away seven years ago…and now that I've met Littlefoot, everything seemed perfect. But when you arrived and he started paying more attention to you, I felt I was losing my family again. It wasn't until I was miles outside the Great Valley that I finally realised that everyone I knew here were my new life. My family and friends."

"Littlefoot did say that you had been through a lot," Ali said sympathetically.

"You told her," Jason said turning to Littlefoot.

"I…err…I didn't say anything! I swear! I…" Littlefoot stuttered thinking that Jason was going to erupt over him.

"It's okay Littlefoot," Jason said softly without the slightest bit of fury in his sentence, "anyway Ali. When they said that you were the one who made the decision to come and find us, something made me think that, perhaps, I had judged you a little unfairly. You see, I expected you to be as welcoming as Littlefoot was when I first met him and I didn't stop to think that you would have different feelings about a creature that's not one of your kind…" Ali blinked in a dumbfounded confusion. Jason was genuinely expressing emotions that she thought he never had. She wanted to say something but nothing came to mind. Littlefoot felt it wasn't his place to step in on the conversation. Jason sighed heavily as if it was the hardest thing he'd ever have to say.

"Ali…I'm so grateful that you came to our rescue. You made me believe that anyone is capable of anything if they have the courage to do it. I had you misjudged but you truly are a great person…err I mean dinosaur…Thank you! Whatever your thoughts or views may be of me, I'll always consider you a true friend as I do with all the others." Ali was lost for words. She glanced at Littlefoot for what to say but he was just smiling pleasantly.

"Jason…I…err…" Ali stammered but Jason held his finger to his lips and hushed her.

"You don't have to say anything Ali, I don't expect you to." Ali was completely at sea. Somewhere, she felt a great respect for Jason but she just couldn't express it in words.

"C'mon, it's getting late. We'd better get you home," Jason said courtly looking up at the now inky black sky alive with twinkling stars.

            The journey back to Ali's herd's resting spot remained soundless. No one uttered a single word. Ali was constantly looking up at Littlefoot every now and then as if he had planned what had just happened, but Littlefoot's smile ceased to fade every time he caught her eye reassuring her that everything that Jason did and said was from his true feelings and that nothing was staged. Upon reaching the spot, Ali's herd was just settling down. Ali saw her mother looking worried at the skyline waiting for her. They stopped just short of the clearing and Ali turned to Jason and Littlefoot.

"Thanks guys. I'm really glad you're both okay," she said, "I would have been so upset if anything had happened to you."

"I think it is us who should be thanking you Ali," Jason said with a warm smile.

"Yeah, thanks for the rescue. We couldn't have made it back without you," Littlefoot added, his smile growing wider still. Ali, even in the dark, blushed with a radiant glow of red.

"Well, thanks for walking me back to my herd. I guess I'll be seeing you both tomorrow."

"I guess you will," Jason said gently, "G'night."

"Goodnight Ali."

"Goodnight." With a little spin, Ali strolled along the forest path and into the clearing. Once she reached her mother, she turned back to see Littlefoot and Jason still standing in the same place. Jason raised his arm and waved before they both turned on their heels and headed for their own home.

"That was really nice, what you said to Ali Jason," Littlefoot said impressed.

"Well, I was thinking about what you said up in the Mysterious Beyond today, about building other's trust? It wasn't until the entire gang was there together that I realised what I really missed once I stormed out of the Valley," Jason said.

"Oh? What's that?" Littlefoot asked curiously.

"My friends. It's my friends that keep me going," Jason smiled tenderly at Littlefoot and hugged him. Littlefoot melted in his arms and smiled too.

"You know, it's funny," Jason then said after realising Littlefoot from his warm grip, "back in the year 2113, I lived alone and never had a care in the world. I only had to worry about myself and I suppose, I kinda went cold inside. Nothing mattered to me except looking out for myself but still haunted by my past. Back then, my life; despite how unchallenging it was, seemed strangely incomplete. Once I came here and I met you and all the others, I suddenly realised what I needed in my life again. A sense of acceptance from a true friend and I can safely say, I've never found a friend more true, blue then you Littlefoot."

"Thanks Jason! You really do know how to make someone feel wanted and you're not afraid to express your feelings. Grandma says that that's a great personal quality that is very difficult to achieve." They smiled at each other. Jason then kneeled down in front of Littlefoot and held his hand out.

"Friends forever?" he said welcomingly. Littlefoot lifted his right, front foot and placed it in Jason's outstretched hand.

"Friends forever."

"Nothing in the entire universe can separate us!" Jason beckoned up to the starry sky overhead.

"No sir! True friends through and through!" Littlefoot called in the same direction before they both burst out laughing. In amongst their laughter though, both of them felt a warm glow inside knowing that one would always be there for the other. With that happy thought in mind, they walked, side-by-side, back to their grandparents and a warm-welcoming bed.


	7. Part 5: Quest for Wisdom

Chapter 24: The Crypt of Glowing Waterfalls 

             Safely knowing that Jason would be sound asleep beside him, Littlefoot found the excitement of the day taking its toll on his weary body. Still a little stiff from the bumps and bruises from falls and spills, Littlefoot manoeuvred himself into his sleeping pit with a considerable amount of difficulty as his entire body seemed a lot heavier than normal. Having reached a suitable position, Littlefoot flopped down, legs out to the sides, and sighed as the cool grass massaged his rigid muscles, soothing his aches and pains. Jason, too, had done exactly the same from up in his tree.

"Phew, I'm beat! Every inch of me hurts," he said with his limbs hanging limply between the cage of branches.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Littlefoot agreed without raising his head, enjoying the relaxing sensation of the chilled grass.

"Oh boy. I'm gonna sleep well tonight," Jason yawned and stretched, "but I'm glad I got a chance to say what I wanted to say to Ali. I feel a whole lot better now knowing I let her know how I feel." Littlefoot was too exhausted to answer verbally so he just nodded with his face in the grass. With his face partially buried, Littlefoot saw something shimmer in the moonlight in amongst the blades. His sapphire had caught the light and was sparkling in the way it always did. His thoughts quickly jumped to Jason's stone that remained encased in his pendent. He looked up at Jason who had fallen sleep rather sloppily with his arms hanging out and mouth open. Littlefoot smiled and rolled himself into a more comfortable position.

"Goodnight Jason," he whispered softly. Jason snorted audibly and rolled over making him laugh quietly. Accepting the grunt as a final wish for a goodnight, Littlefoot tucked himself in and before long; he too, drifted off into a deep sleep.

            Littlefoot found his world transforming and darkening around him like the flick of a black blanket smothering him. Every light source was consumed and the stars overhead blotted out one by one as if someone were plucking them out of the night sky. The area was pitch black but something seemed vaguely familiar about the darkness; not threatening but he could sense something strangely recognizable about it. Standing still, Littlefoot then felt the air suddenly drop in temperature which sent a chill up his back and made his skin tingle pleasantly. He glanced up at the shadowy sky and saw a small, blue, glistening water droplet fall behind him as if sliding down a vertical surface. Watching more and more of the sparkling droplets fall, he turned to look straight ahead and saw a waterfall of similar droplets make two more watery curtains; one in red and the other in green, creating a shimmering, triangular-shaped crypt. Soon, the entire area was alight with three, marvellous glowing waterfalls which brought a shocked expression to Littlefoot's face as a white, triangular podium became visible from the centre of the room. A bright beam of white light shot up from the podium and pierced the blackness of the darkened sky. The beam came so suddenly that Littlefoot stumbled backwards and tripped over his low-hanging tail, crushing it in the process of falling. Littlefoot tried to rub the feeling back into his numb tail as the white light faded to give way to a magnificent, old aged longneck who bowed her great head to look Littlefoot down at his eye level. Littlefoot hopped to his feet attentively and stood rigid as if awaiting a military command.

"Greetings child. We meet again," the old longneck croaked merrily. Littlefoot instantly recognised her as the same longneck who spoke to him in his dreams a month ago, before Jason's arrival.

"H-h…h-hello," Littlefoot stammered trying to hide his nervousness but it crept into his voice box instinctively.

"No need to be scared little one," the longneck assured him in a soft tone, "I see your travels have brought you to me once again."

"Travels?" Littlefoot asked unsure of what she had just said.

"Why yes child. You have discovered the other chosen ones haven't you?" Littlefoot was lost for words. Since Jason's arrival, swiftly followed by Ali's a week or two later he hadn't been dreaming his regular, troubled dreams he used to when he slept alone.

"Well…" Littlefoot started uncertain with he should lie to her or not but before he's mind had made a decision, a bright flash flared in his face and three, triangular-cut stones (one blue, one green and the last red) floated in front of him. Littlefoot stared at the levitating stones in awe as they circled each other, each emitting their own twinkling streak of their unique glimmering shade either deep sea blue, blood red or forest green.

"Well, seems to me that you have found them all despite your uncharacteristic misjudgement of yourself," the longneck said distinctly satisfied. Littlefoot shied away a little embarrassed but his expression quickly changed as the circling stones moved, as if on invisible threads, up to the longneck and rotated around her throat like a revolving necklace.

"So, I presume that you met with the other destined ones did you not?" she continued.

"Oh, yes. I think so," Littlefoot said blinking to break his trance he had on the floating stones. They were swirling around at such a rate that the coloured streak of one stone seemed to be just touching the streak of the next stone ahead so it really did look like a tri-coloured collar.

"Good. That means the prophecy is near completion. Once the power of the three mystic Stones of Essences has been harnessed, the ultimate power source can be obtained." At that point, Littlefoot was stunned to see the circling stones lift up and over the longneck's head and began to swirl faster. The supersonic speed of the spinning stones released an incredible light that Littlefoot had to shield his eyes from as best he could. There was a great flash and a crack of thunder rumbled overhead. Littlefoot looked up just as a golden bolt of lightening shot out of the dark heavens and crashed onto the stones forcing a tremendous eruption of white light. Littlefoot jumped in shock and dove his head into his forelegs to protect his eyes from the blinding glare.

            The resonating light slowly died away and Littlefoot cautiously raised his head from out of his front feet. The crypt had returned to normal with its flowing, multicoloured walls and the old longneck stood, completely unphased, on her podium. Littlefoot looked left and then right for any signs of destruction but the area was, remarkably, unscathed. Littlefoot then turned to the longneck to ask her what he just happened but his vision was blocked by a large, floating artefact that looked like a pyramid of three triangles balanced one on top of the other. Littlefoot was thunderstruck but the brilliant, gleaming, golden yellow stone that sat in mid air as if suspended by strings.

"You look surprised Guardian. Did you expect such an enormous power to simply just come together like rainwater to a puddle?" the wise longneck said reading the dumbfounded stare on Littlefoot's face smiling.

"Wh…What is that?" Littlefoot asked not taking his eyes off the floating, triangular slab that dripped golden stars.

"This is the greatest power the world has ever known. The power of the cosmos; "Heaven's Eternity Crystal". This is the ultimate source of power created from the three essences of life encased in the three stones that you and the other chosen ones hold."

"Three ess-esse-essessencees?" Littlefoot said rather dumbly unable to pronounce the word properly.

"Yes. The three essences of life. Tears, Heart and Soul! Tears represent the deepest of emotions that can be spurred by one's troubles and turmoils of living a mortal life. This shimmers in even the darkest of nights showing one the way when unsure of their path. The heart is a never-ending source of limitless energy that can supply life and sustain it to an ever-increasing level. The physical essence to a mortal life that glows with a radiant light that can never be extinguished because of its unmatchable strength. The soul is the mist that controls all and surveys the world ensuring everything is in its exact balance. As the spiritual essence to life, it can easily pass and change with every emotion one feels. All these essences can exist as individuals but once their magnificent forces are combined, the result is the most powerful creation of not only the world, but of the entire universe. Heaven's Eternity Crystal; the greatest power ever known. But even great power such as this requires a means of unlocking its potential. The one to unlock it is one of those chosen by destiny. After that, the crystal's power can be obtained." 

Littlefoot stood utterly amazed, not to mention greatly confused. "The greatest power in universe"? Littlefoot was stunned, more so that the old longneck had resorted to using words and terminologies that he'd only expect someone like Jason to use. On that thought, Littlefoot quickly remember something that seemed to tie Jason into all of this somehow.

"Erm…excuse me but, can I ask you something?"

"Certainly child."

"I have a friend but he's not…err…" He stopped in mid speech unsure of how to word his sentence.

"Not a dinosaur?" the longneck finished it for him. Littlefoot was even more shocked and suddenly felt an excitable jolt rush through him.

"Yeah. He's not a dinosaur but he is a good friend of mine. He's almost like a big brother. Anyway, he seems to have a stone like my blue one except its red. Do you think he is like me, as a chosen one I mean because he has a stone like mine?"

"But how would that make him connected to your dreams young Guardian? You should know that once they have a strong connection to your subconscious, then you will know for sure," the old longneck stated potently. Littlefoot was stumped. Maybe Jason wasn't linked to all this as he had first thought. The idea saddened him and he felt his stomach sink uncomfortably. Out of everyone, he felt Jason was closest to him in terms of how hard their childhoods were and even his pendent was the sure link to their great admiration for each other but as it turned out, he wasn't one of them.

"Don't worry child. The time for the chosen ones to come together will soon approach and once their connections to your destiny have been established, then you will see who you will be with but it will be up to you to decide how they are connected to your dreams."

Despite her words of encouragement, Littlefoot still felt downcast about how Jason was not one of the chosen ones, as he had never had a dream about him. He sighed heavily and then looked up at old longneck wanting to say something but nothing would come out of his open mouth so he promptly closed it again.

"The time will come young one. You will see where your allies lie and once you do, your greatest adventure will unfold," she bellowed somewhat threateningly and her voice bounded off the walls of the crypt, making ripples in the glowing waterfalls. Once she had finished her sentence, the same blinding, white light shot up from the podium and engulfed the longneck in its magical column. Littlefoot shielded his eyes as best he could with a foot as the waterfalls suddenly stopped and white light spilled out into the room, surrounding him too. Just as Littlefoot fell blind to the intense light, he heard the longneck speak one last time.

"As for your friend, I will peer into his soul to see if he is the one you think…"

Chapter 25: The Dino Investigation Squad 

            Morning dawned a new day on the Great Valley as the sun glowed a ruby red from behind the Smoking Mountains. Jason stretched from up in his tree and yapped loudly after yawning with a gaping mouth. He rubbed his eyes and glanced down on Littlefoot who, to his surprise, was still in his little grassy pit. Jason smiled but was slightly concerned to see him tossing and turning rather turbulently. He clambered down from his tree and stood at the top end of his pit and watched him carefully. Littlefoot was thrashing about a bit too much to be enjoying his sleep so Jason decided to wake him.

"Littlefoot…Littlefoot…" he whispered melodiously but Littlefoot remained, still rather troubled, asleep.

"Rise and shine buddy," he said a little louder but Littlefoot continued to roll over and bending himself in uncomfortable positions. Jason crouched down into Littlefoot's pit to get a closer look having been a little worried about Littlefoot now moaning as if in pain. He rest his hand on Littlefoot's side and rubbed it softly to try to calm him down.

"Take it easy Littlefoot. You're okay. Slow down." Despite his calming tone, Littlefoot continued to roll until he stopped suddenly on his front and didn't move. Jason anxiously turned to Littlefoot's face but was relieved to see him blowing the blades of grass through his nostrils on his forehead and his eyelids where clamped tight shut.

"Littlefoot…are you all right?" Jason asked once more. Littlefoot's eyes snapped open which startled Jason who hopped back a little and yelped. Subconsciously reacting to Jason's squeak, Littlefoot lurched up suddenly and swung his head around only to find himself clutching it in pain a second later. Littlefoot shook his head, opened his eyes and sat upright panting. He looked around dazed and confused but then sighed when he realised he was only dreaming.

"Oww! Oooo! My head…" Littlefoot then seared as his head throbbed as he raised it. He then glanced up at Jason's tree but didn't find him up there.

"Jason? Jason? Where are you?" he asked the air but quickly responded to a low groaning from behind him. Littlefoot turned to see Jason lying face down away from him with his arms folded under his head.

"Jason? Are you okay?" Littlefoot asked stepping out of his pit and walked towards Jason who wasn't moving. Jason groaned and slowly rolled over to face Littlefoot, holding his forehead.

"Geez! I don't remember mornings always being so painful…oow!" he said rubbing his forehead briskly.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were there," Littlefoot said sympathetically doing the same.

"It's okay, just kill off another load of brain cells…Oww! Man! You guys have hard heads! I'm seeing stars here," Jason cringed but comically began trying to catch the little blinking dots in front of his eyes which make Littlefoot laugh.

            Having rubbed their heads to the point that it was making them sore again, Littlefoot and Jason quickly bounded over to their feeding spot where Jason had discovered some fruits he'd never seen before but had quickly established a bit of a fetish for them.

"Well, should we go find the others?" Littlefoot said happily having swallowed his last mouthful.

"Yeah, why not," Jason replied eyeing the tree that bore his new discovery, "but erm…I'll catch up with you. I gotta try some more of these gorgeous fruits. Hmm…maybe the ones up there…" Littlefoot giggled as he watched Jason start climbing the tree to reach the ones higher up.

"Okay I'll see you later," Littlefoot called up the tree and turned to head for Ali's resting place. Jason waved him off with a mouthful of his fruit and sat, quite contently, up in the tree.

            With a leap and a bound in his step, Littlefoot hopped merrily over to Ali's herd who were all ready to begin wandering the Valley for food.

"Ali!" Littlefoot called into the crowd of longnecks.

"Oh hi Littlefoot!" Ali said with a large smile, "Have a nice sleep? Where's Jason?"

"Oh, he's feasting on those nasty, smelly fruits no one likes. I haven't told him yet that they give you bad breath if you eat too many," Littlefoot smiled and Ali laughed, "so you wanna come play in the Green Meadow with us?"

"Sure! Let me just tell my mother where we're going." Ali disappeared into the many legs of her herd and re-emerged a few seconds later.

"Okay, let's go."

            The Green Meadow was teaming with dinosaur herds, even more so than normally. As Littlefoot and Ali approached the field, they found themselves weaving in and out of dinosaurs' legs to try and search for an open spot. There was a great amount of chattering around which made the area very noisy.

"I wonder why there are so many herds here?" Littlefoot said curiously.

"To you think something's happened?" Ali asked. 

"I don't know. I hope not," Littlefoot replied shaking his head in uncertainty. They both then turned to a voice calling them both.

"It's Cera," Ali called as the threehorn bounded up to them.

"What are you two doing here? It's way too crowded here," Cera scorned.

"Well, where are the others?" Littlefoot asked.

"We're all down in the Tall Trees. All the elders have barged their way into the meadows so me, Petrie, Ducky and Spike have moved down there. You gonna come?"

"Yeah sure," Littlefoot and Ali cawed together.

"So where's the two-legged wonder?" Cera then asked rather indignantly.

"JASON is at one of the fruit trees picking food. He said he'd come and find us a little later," Littlefoot replied putting extra emphasis on Jason's name.

"Fine, whatever. Just as long as he doesn't breathe all over me if he's eating those disgusting fruits that taste like dried up treestars…yuck!" Cera said sharply and took off before Littlefoot could say another word. Ali glanced over to him and Littlefoot shrugged and quickly followed Cera's tracks into the woods with Ali bring up the rear.

            They reached one of the clearing in the Tall Trees where Ducky, Petrie and Spike had already began chasing each other. Ducky then stopped suddenly and Petrie bumped into her having not looked where he was going.

"Hi Littlefoot and Ali!" she chirped from under Petrie.

"Hello Ducky! Hiya Petrie…Spike," Littlefoot greeted everyone in turn. Petrie picked himself up and perched on a low branch and Spike returned to his shrub after he nodded in acknowledgement. 

"Does anyone know why all the herds are in the Green Meadow?" Littlefoot continued.

"I do not know. No, no, no!" Ducky said with a hand on her chest.

"Mama say that there trouble coming from one side of Valley," Petrie croaked from his branch.

"Trouble?" Ali and Cera said in unison.

"Yeah. Mama say that strange noises coming from far side of Valley down by Grazing Pasture. Since lots of noise down there, no visiting herds want to stay so they all move to Green Meadow instead."

"Strange noises?" Littlefoot said cautiously, "Noises like what?"

"Like strange moaning and creepy roars like sharpteeth!" Petrie said raising his stick-like fingers in the air to imitate some eerie creature floating on the breeze. The group gasped.

"Do you think that sharpteeth could be in the Valley?" Ducky asked nervously.

"I don't think so. I mean how could they possibly get in? The Great Wall's always kept them out and there's that massive hole that earthshake made a long time ago, remember?" Littlefoot said.

"But how could there be sharptooth sounds in the Valley if there aren't any sharpteeth around?" Ali asked which stumped the entire group. Everyone remained silent but it was quickly broken by a high-pitched squealing sound in their direction.

"What was that?" Cera said jumpily.

"Could it be that thing making all the noise?" Ali asked almost quivering. Littlefoot raised his head high to scan the woodland before hearing a male voice call his name followed by the sound again.

"Hey Littlefoot!" the voice called.

"It's Jason!" Littlefoot said breathing a sigh of relief. Jason came jogging up into the group from the forest path behind them.

"Hey gang! What's up?"

"Was that you making that noise?" Ducky asked greatly relieved that it wasn't what she was thinking of.

"Yeah why? Is something wrong?"

"What was it?" Ali asked in astonishment.

"It was just a whistle that's all. No big deal," Jason shrugged innocently.

"Whistle? That loud!" Petrie cawed in amazement.

"How'd you whistle so loud?" Littlefoot then asked.

"Well its kind of a human thing coz you need fingers," Jason explained, "you kind of just pusssh dor finkers in dor moouff dike dis…" Jason was now talking and demonstrating at the same time. He removed his fingers from his mouth and gave them a flick, "Once you've done that, you just blow." Jason then locked his fingers back in his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle that most of them cringed at its sound; Spike flinched but carried on eating.

"Wow! That loud!" Petrie gaped as the echo slowly died, "Petrie try!" Petrie then tried to blow on his fingers but the group laughed as the only sound he could manage was a rude, slurping sort of noise that sounded hilariously funny.

"So anyway, what up? Why all the serious faces?" Jason said once the laughter had quietened down.

"We were talking about the problem," Cera said blandly.

"Problem? What problem?" Jason asked.

"The problem with the visiting herds," Littlefoot expanded being a little more helpful than Cera, "all the visiting herds who used to use the Grazing Pasture as a resting ground have all moved to the Green Meadow."

"So that would explain why all those migrating herds were all clustered up in the greens back there. Like Piccadilly Circus trying to cut through there."

"Pica-who?"

"Never mind Cera, so what's driven them all there anyway?"

"Mama say that weird sounds coming from somewhere around far side of Valley. That why herds move from Grazing Pasture," Petrie cawed again.

"Noises? Like what?"

"They say they sound like sharpteeth but we can't see how sharpteeth could get into the Valley," Littlefoot said.

"Hmm…and there're no other routes around either, are there?" Jason asked with his head resting on his hand in thought.

"Nope, there is not!" Ducky replied.

"And it's the far side of the Valley where the noise is coming from, right?"

"Uh huh. Where the bright circle go down at night time," Petrie nodded, "they say sound come from further than Grazing Pasture coz they sound like they move in the wind."

"What's down that far end of the Valley?" Jason asked pryingly.

"Nothing except…" Littlefoot began but stopped as something struck him, "The Forest of Fear…" Ducky flinched at the name as if it where a stone that hit her in the face.

"What's the Forest of Fear?" Ali then stepped in.

"It a dark, mysterious forest that no light get in! Some say that it is cursed and haunted so that anyone who enter never return!" Petrie croaked in a mystifying voice and was yet again twiddling his fingers over his head to increase the atmospheric description of his words.

"Unless your name is Littlefoot," Jason then said nudging him in the side with his elbow.

"What?" he said with a jump.

"Remember. You managed to escape twice didn't you? Once when you first met me and a time before that right?"

"Erm…yeah but…" Littlefoot stammered.

"Well, we could always go and investigate what's happening down there and see what the noises could possibly be."

"Are you crazy?" Cera blurted, "We can't go in there! We'd be…"

"What's wrong Cera? You scared?" Jason then lowered his face down to hers and glowered at her with a taunting expression etched into his face.

"…N…n-no! It's just that…we…could get…into a whole heap of trouble," she retorted in a very broken voice.

"Like that's stopped you guys before. Going to the Mysterious Beyond, exploring dangerous terrains, running from sharpteeth countless times and you're telling me you're worried about getting into trouble?" Cera didn't say anything.

"I don't know Jason I mean, what if we are caught. Our folks will have heard about it by now and they'll try to make sure we're safe so…" Littlefoot said trying not to take sides.

"I don't mean actually go into the forest. I remember when Grandpa had a go at you for going in and finding me in there. What I'm saying is that we could try to find some clues from outside. That couldn't do any harm could it?" No one could answer him.

"Well, I'm gonna go check it out," Jason said as he headed out of the clearing, "you guys do what you want and what ever you decide, it won't make me feel any littler of you, okay?"

"N…no…Jason wait!" Littlefoot called but Jason had already taken off leaving them staring at each other.

"What do we do now?" Ducky said hopelessly.

"Should we follow him?" Ali asked indecisively.

"He's nuts! And I say your nuts if you go after him," Cera snorted angrily.

"What you think Littlefoot?…Littlefoot?" Petrie called searching around for Littlefoot.

"Where'd he go now? Hey, and where's Spike?" Cera said following Petrie's glance. The four of them all turned to the path Jason had taken and they all saw Littlefoot and Spike heading after Jason who was waiting further down for them. With a squeal of surprise each, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Ali all sped off down the dusty path to follow the others down to the Forest of Fear.

Chapter 26: The Egg-Stealers' Barrage 

            The journey down into the Grazing Pasture was a cautious one as it seems so unnatural for such a large area that many visiting herds usually dwell in was eerily quiet and deserted. The group walked side by side warily just waiting for something to jump out from a bush or from behind a tree.

"Oww! Hey, Cera! That's my foot! Quit walking so close!" Jason whined limping slightly.

"Well don't put it down where I'm walking then!" Cera barked back quickly noticing that she was standing a little closer to Jason then she had realised.

"This place really creepy," Petrie gulped hiding behind Cera's neck shield.

"Yes it is! Yep, yep, yep," Ducky said nervously hugging Spike's neck a little tighter.

"I've never seen the Pasture so empty like this before," Littlefoot gasped.

"How much further to the Forest of Fear Littlefoot?" Ali asked from his left hand side.

"It's right on the edge of the Valley, just over those hills," he replied pointing his head over a number of hills on the skyline.

"The sooner we get this over with the better," Cera muttered.

            Passing over the hills and through a small thicket, the group emerged on the far west side of the Valley where they stood in front of a deep, dense maze of trees that stood suspended in a barrier of darkness. No light from the sun high above seemed to penetrate the black that hung around the trees like an evil mist.

"The Forest of Fear…" Ducky gasped. Everyone stood next to one another and all exchanged concerned glances.

"What now?" Petrie said.

"Well, it doesn't seem like anything's wrong," Jason said diagnostically, "I can't hear a thing."

"Me neither," Littlefoot added.

"So what then? We came all this way for nothing?" Cera said with increasing anger.

"Looks like it," Ali said strangely mesmerised by the forest.

"Hang on a sec. Let's spread out a see if we can find anything," Jason said quickly as the group started to shuffle a little irritated. The group split up into pairs (Petrie went in a three with Ducky and Spike) and wandered around the forest. Not one of them dared to enter the supposedly bewitched woodland just in case they weren't as lucky as Littlefoot had been twice before.

"Hey Littlefoot."

"Huh? Ali?"

"Do you think there really is something in there making all that noise like Petrie said?"

"Well, me and Jason had to run from some egg-stealers that were in there but apart from that, I don't think there's much else."

"Do you think they're still in there?

"I don't know. I hope not otherwise everyone in the Valley will be worried about egg-stealers being around."

"There were egg-stealers in there and you actually got away!"

"Yeah. Jason helped me. That forest is also the place where I met him for the first time!"

"You FOUND Jason in there!" Ali's eyes widened and she looked around at Jason arguing with Cera with great sense of dread and then turned back to Littlefoot.

"Yeah, why?" Littlefoot looked a little taken aback. The look he received from Ali almost knocked him over.

"You trusted him even when he came from that weird and creepy forest!"

"Well…yeah, I guess. But he's not a dinosaur or anything so what's the big deal?"

"How could you trust some strange creature you've never seen before and that come from such a bad place!"

"He didn't come from the forest though! He said he's from the future so he must be!"

"He SAID he did, but what if he didn't! What if he had a whole herd in there waiting to attack the Great Valley! What would you do then?"

"Wha…! You…you don't know what you're talking about! Jason was the only one in that forest and he help me escape! He saved me! How could you say that! What's gotten into you?"

Ali suddenly fell silent and dropped her head.  Littlefoot, breathing hard, looked around to see if their quarrel had caught anyone's attention but once he saw no one had turned to them, he gazed at Ali's sorrowful face.

"Look. I…I didn't mean to get angry but…" Littlefoot stopped and sighed, "I don't understand why you think Jason's so bad…he really isn't. He's like a brother to me just like Spike is a brother to Ducky."

"But Spike is actually a dinosaur, he's not…I'm…I'm sorry but…I just can't trust him Littlefoot. I keep feeling that he's going to do something terrible to you and perhaps even the entire Great Valley."

"But why would he want to do something like that Ali? I trust Jason since he has saved me and others before. If he'd want to harm any of us, why would he share stories and play with us and help us out in times of trouble?" Ali lowered her head again to break contact from Littlefoot's pleading eyes.

"Ali. Didn't anything Jason say to you last night sink in?"

"Well…yes some did but…I just can't shake off this feeling he's going to hurt you Littlefoot. If not him, he'll get you into so much trouble you'll never be the same. I…" she stopped suddenly as if she had already said too much. Littlefoot blinked at her curiously urging her to continue.

"I don't want him to change you Littlefoot…I don't want him to do you any harm…"

"Then believe me…Jason would never do such a thing. I believe he is here to help us, to be our friend. All he needs is a chance…you'll see." As they scoured the rest of the perimeter of the forest, Ali and Littlefoot said nothing to each other but occasionally gazed at each other.

            After a few minutes worth of searching around for clues, everyone regrouped where they had started and reported their findings.

"Anyone find anything?" Jason said rather eminently.

"Nope, not a thing," Littlefoot stated.

"Petrie? Ducky? Spike?" he turned to the third group.

"We no find anything," Petrie said flopping down on Spike's back.

"The only thing we did find was a plant with a pretty flower but Spike eated it," Ducky said.

"Humph! I told you this search was pointless. What a waste of time!" Cera grunted barging past Jason.

"Okay, okay, so we didn't find anything. C'mon, let's get out of here," Jason sighed as he swung his bag onto his back almost catching Littlefoot in the face.

                 Over the hills and back towards the Grazing Pasture, the group trudged homeward without anyone saying anything. Ducky and Petrie had dozed off on Spike's back as he pulled up loose tufts of grass from the sandy path to snack on. Littlefoot was walking with his eyes fixed on the ground. He was thinking about what Ali had said about Jason and her inability to give him even an ounce of her trust. Why was she so worried that Jason would want to do anything to harm him? Jason seemed noble and trustworthy yet Ali felt that there was something about him that would change him. Even if he did, change him how? How could one person make him feel any different to how he was right now? Ali's criticisms didn't make sense. What could Jason possibly be hiding? That is if he was hiding anything at all since he had been so open with all of them. He was never afraid to tell them stories and tales about his life in the future. Why would he make up such a lie in order to get to know him?

"You all right?" he heard a voice whisper in his ear.

"Huh? Oh, Jason…it's you…" Littlefoot said as he raised his head.

"You look a little worried about something. You sure you're feeling okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Jason smiled warmly and Littlefoot copied him. Once Jason had broken eye contact, Littlefoot dropped his head again and returned to his thoughts.

            Before long, the tired group found themselves approaching the Grazing Pasture and its deserted nature that made it eerie. Ducky and Petrie stretched and yawned from on top Spike as the group slowed down to a halt to rest for a while. The sky was starting to show glowing oranges and reds of the fading afternoon and the group wandered around for something to eat having gone the best part of the day without any besides breakfast. Jason sat down alone in the middle of the pasture and delved into his bag to pull out some of the fruits he had feasted on this morning whilst the others roamed to the bordering trees to grab some low hanging treestars. Breaking one of the fruits open, Jason looked around at the scattered group until his eyes came to rest finally on Littlefoot. He seemed very isolated and gloomy compared to his normal happy and bouncy nature. Jason began to wonder if perhaps he had done something to upset him. Maybe he had been a little too bossy and bullied everyone into coming with him to investigate the Forest of Fear. He sighed and took another bite out of the brightly coloured, orange flesh of the fruit that almost resembled the early evening sky.

            Everyone, once full, turned back to the spot where Jason was eating as he stood up and brushed the cracked shell of the fruit off his jeans.

"Aw! Yuck! What's that smell?" Cera gagged as she sniffed the air and caught the scent of something bad. She suddenly snapped a menacing gaze at Jason after fanning her nose.

"Wha! Don't look at me! I didn't do it!" Jason flapped in defence.

"Erm…Jason…"

"Yes Ducky?"

"Um…that smell IS you I am afraid," Ducky said with he fingers plugging her bell-shaped nose.

"Me! Wha…what'd I do?"

"It's not you exactly Jason," Littlefoot said with his face turned away from him, "it's those fruits…they smell really bad…" Jason looked stunned but quickly held a hand over his mouth to smell his breath.

"Oh…Uck! Ooh man! Gee whiz! Why didn't you tell me this things give you bad breath?" he choked and sputtered as the smell burned his nose and he felt his stomach suddenly lurch, "Oh…man…I think I'm gonna be sick!" Jason suddenly threw his bag down, ran for the bushes and dove his head over one so all that could be seen was his legs stick out of the greenery. The group rolled over and laughed so hard they were almost in tears. When Jason's head emerged a little while later, extremely off-colour, he strolled back to his bag holding his stomach gingerly. He smiled to see the group suddenly burst out laughing again and he bent down to pick up one of the fruits that had rolled out of the top compartment of his bag.

"Yuck…okay. I'm definitely sticking to treestars!" Jason announced as he chucked the fruit into the trees in disgust which made the group laugh even harder. Jason smiled and sniggered at his friends rolling on the grass in fits of laughter. He had learned his lesson about experimenting with new fruits without checking them over with the locals first.

            As the laughter continued, Jason saw a flash from out of the corner of his eye. Reacting to it in a split second, Jason turned to see what had just flicked across his vision. He gaped at the sky as a blue lightening bolt shot out from a growing mass of black clouds that began clustering over the hills they had just walked over. Everyone's laughter suddenly died as another lightening flash tore across the skyline like a writhing snake moving at the speed of light. Everybody stood transfixed on the abnormal storm cloud that grew bigger and bigger as more blue lightening crash from out of it and crackled like stray electricity. The winds picked up and blew in their faces blinding them with dust and loose leaves as the storm continued.

"What's going on?" Cera cried trying to make herself heard over the roaring winds.

"I don't know! It looks like a storm of sky-water," Littlefoot bellowed.

"Could it be the whirling winds?" Ducky called nervously trying desperately to cling onto Spike.

"No. That's no ordinary storm you guys! If it was, why would there be no rain?" Jason called shielding his eyes from the dust with his arm.

"Look!" Ali cried as the winds died down. Everyone stared up at the sky and saw the underside of the clouds glow a sea-blue that flickered like a faulty light bulb. The flickering light was quickly followed by a loud thud and the crackling of the blue lightening soon faded.

            Once the supernatural storm had subsided, the group gazed over at the area where it had all taken place.

"What was that all about?" Cera asked slightly worried.

"I've never seen a storm like that before. Why was everything so blue?" Littlefoot said dumbstruck.

"What do you think happened? Is it all over?" Ali said peering over Littlefoot's shoulder at the place where the storm had occurred.

"It sure look like it," Petrie cawed from underneath Spike as he was blown off of his back and managed to clamber under to grab hold of his legs.

"Strange…" Jason said with a soft, interested tone to his voice.

"Jason?" Littlefoot said turning to him. He was stunned to see Jason gazing unfocused on the now disintegrated storm clouds.

"What is the matter Jason?" Ducky asked also looking at Jason's vacant expression of inquisitiveness.

"Huh? Oh, nothing…" Jason blinked and shook his head to snap out of his trance.

"What was that Jason?" Littlefoot asked him.

"I…do not…know…" Jason said dreamily without turning to meet Littlefoot's eyes.

"Are we in danger here?" Ali quickly added. Jason shook his head slowly with looking at her. His mind was clearly wandering elsewhere. Everyone glanced at everyone else confused by Jason's inane expression. He seemed mesmerised by the storm as if hypnotised.

"Jason, are you okay?" Ducky asked warily.

"Huuummm…oh yeah, yeah I'm fine," Jason said tapping the side of his head lightly as if to knock the thoughts out of his ear, "think those nasty fruits have gone to my head." 

The group was gripped by an uneasy silence. They all stood gazing over to where the storm had been. Suddenly, they all jerked as they felt the ground tremble fiercely.

"Aaahhh! Earthshake!" Petrie cried taking to the air. The group panicked but Jason looked up at the hills and saw something like a patch of black dust charging down one of the hills.

"Uh oh! It's not an earthquake but it's pretty close!" he said with a quivering voice as the rumbling began to get louder.

"What in the world do you mean by that!" Cera exclaimed angrily.

"It's not an earthquake…it's a STAMPEDE!"

"A what?!" the group cried anxiously.

"No time to explain! We gotta…!" Jason gasped halfway through speaking as the thundering footsteps of a fleet of egg-stealing dinosaurs was visible charging down the final hill before the Grazing Pasture.

"Run for it!!!" Jason yelled and sped off, scooping his bag up as he past it. With shrieks and squeals, the rest of the gang followed Jason as the egg-stealers continued to sprint towards them. The group ran, panic-stricken, through the Grazing Pasture to reach the Tall Trees to seek refuse there from the approaching herd. They charged headlong across the open field, which seemed a whole lot wider as they were being chased by a barrage of stampeding egg-stealers, the Tall Trees came into view. Ducky gazed back to look at the moving sea of dinosaurs appearing over the hill they had just climbed and were now on the next. She screamed as they slowly began catching up with them.

"Faster! Faster!" Littlefoot cried as he overtook Cera.

"They're gaining on us!" Ali shrieked glancing back at the fast approaching rampage.

"Don't look back Ali!" Jason shouted.

"The Tall Trees!" Cera called as she sprinted onwards.

"Quick! Everyone inside!" Jason commanded as he dived over a low hedge into the woods. Littlefoot, Cera and Spike (carrying Petrie and Ducky) followed Jason and leapt into the bushes. Jason gasped horrified as he looked back to see Ali had stumbled and fallen down. The rumble of the stampede was drawing closer and was almost on top of them. Dropping his bag, Jason hopped over the bush and ran to grab Ali.

"Jason, no!" Littlefoot called after him and was about to jump out into the field but Spike had grabbed him by the tail.

"Let go of me!" he squirmed.

"No Littlefoot! You can't go out there!" Cera said breathlessly. Littlefoot stopped thrashing and stopped to look as he saw Jason still heading for Ali.

"C'mon Jason. Hurry!"

            Jason skidded to a halt next to Ali and quickly helped her to her feet.

"Ali! Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Ali said puffing hard then she cringed with pain as she put pressure on her left foot.

"What's wrong?"

"My…my ankle…" she said hopelessly dangling her front, left foot limply, "Go on, leave me…save yourself…"

"No, you're coming with me! Just…try and hold on to my backpack and I'll try carrying you to the woods."

"I don't think you…"

"C'mon Ali! There's no time to argue. Just stand on your hind legs and place your front ones on my back. Just try to walk as best you can!"

"……………………………………"

"Well, c'mon! Let's go!" Jason urged desperately. Ali blinked for a second and then lifted her front feet onto Jason's shoulders. Jason buckled slightly under her incredible weight but then trudged as fast as he could over to the Tall Trees where everyone stood waiting anxiously.

"Hurry up! Come on! Quickly!" the crowd yelled through the trees as the stampede came charging up the hillside. Jason struggled with Ali as his legs ached under Ali's weight pressed on his back. He gritted his teeth in pain as his muscles wanted to give in but he begged his body to keep moving.

"Almost…there…Ali!" he strained as sweat slid down his face and dripped off his chin. Ali was trying her hardest to balance and walk on her hind legs as it was a very difficult angle for her to try and move at; particularly for a four-legged dinosaur. Still, the two of them inched closer and closer to the Tall Trees where everyone was flapping frantically. The stampede was almost upon them when Jason reached the bushes where Cera, Littlefoot and Spike had grabbed any part of Jason they could and hauled him into the safety of the sheltered woods as the rampaging egg-stealers charged headlong off into the distance.

            Jason collapsed on the ground, breathing hard as Ali flopped down next to Littlefoot and winced at the pain radiating through her foot.

"Oww…my foot."

"What is wrong Ali?" Ducky said as Petrie fanned Jason with a wing.

"My foot really hurts…I…I can't move it!" she complained as she hissed in pain again.

"You've probably twisted it," Jason said calmly sitting up and thanking Petrie at the same time. He got up and walked over to her and took her foot in his hand where she winced again. "Yeah. You've strained the ligaments in your ankle. It's not serious, don't worry."

"I can't stand on it though," Ali protested as she tried to get up but quickly flopped back down again.

"Take it easy. If you rush yourself you'll make it worse." Littlefoot looked up into the field to see where the egg-stealers had run to but they had disappeared from sight.

"Where'd you think those egg-stealers will go?" he asked.

"I don't know but I think the grown-ups will have something to say about it," Cera replied.

"What we do now?" Petrie cawed still fanning Jason as he fell back down heavily and was still sweating.

"THERE you children are?" a motherly voice called down on top of all seven of them.

"Grandma!" Littlefoot and Jason called together.

"We were so worried about all of you. Have you been here all this time?" she sighed relieved to see them safe and sound. She was closely followed by the rest of their relatives. There was a great chatter that filled the clearing and everyone was glad that they didn't have to answer Grandma Longneck's question because they all had the same thought in mind which was to lie and that would have made them all feel incredibly guilty.

Greeted by warm hugs and nose rubs, everyone glanced at each other worryingly through their parents' welcomes.

"Erm…Grandpa? Did you see them erm…" Jason began but Grandpa looked down on him with an expression that assured him that all was well.

"The egg-stealers have all be rounded up and forced out into the Mysterious Beyond."

"But won't they return?" Littlefoot looked up from hugging his grandmother's nose, "I thought you always said that sharpteeth could never get into the Valley so wouldn't that mean that they couldn't get out either?"

"No need to worry Littlefoot. Thanks to the threehorns and spiketail herds, they managed to seal the way out that only us grown-ups know about."

"There's a secret entrance?" Littlefoot said with excitement, "where?"

"Like we said Littlefoot, it's for grown-ups only," Grandpa chuckled, "now, time you young ones had some dinner. Come. I know just the spot where everyone can eat." Grandpa Longneck signalled for everyone to follow him. Littlefoot quickly turned to Ali but saw her mother pick her up and place her on her back.

Once Ali's mother had Ali safely on board, everyone followed Grandpa Longneck out of the Tall Trees to the awaiting treestars and the approaching night.

Chapter 27: Tales and Evils of Mankind 

            The inky black sky quickly swept over the Great Valley as the gang sat around a small fire Jason had started using some matches and dry wood from a dying pine tree. Everyone was slightly worried about Jason starting a fire on a dirt patch in the middle of the field but Jason assured them that he had it under control and despite earlier discrepancies, the elders allowed all six of them to sit around the crackling flames. Ali was taken home after Jason explained that she should keep off of her injured ankle as much as possible in order to help it heal. The meal they enjoyed under the stars and moonlight was quickly followed by stories of more adventures Littlefoot and his friends had gone on. Jason then swiftly took the floor by telling scary tales he had heard from his own time from films that he used to watch.

"And then, she slowly turned the corner and found herself staring down a deserted hall. The windows rattled and eerie shadows were scattered all up the walls showing weird, twisted shapes that looked like some mutant creature was gonna pounce out from the darkness!" Jason made a short lunge at the group which made Ducky fall backwards off Spike.

"What happened next Jason?" Littlefoot said excitedly.

"So, she began slowly walking down the dark, narrow corridor. Her footsteps clapped loudly against the wooden floor as they creaked and groaned underneath. The wind howled menacingly outside like a ghost circling the house, watching her every move." Jason paused to savour the sheer look of terror on Cera's face.

"W-what! What are you staring at?" she barked annoyed.

"Oh! Nothing," Jason said sweetly trying hard to suppress the growing grin spreading across his face as Cera hung on his every word.

"Well, get on with it!" she snapped impatiently.

"Okay, okay! Anyway, as she past one window after another, she stopped as the shadows shook suddenly as if someone had brushed past the twisted trees outside. Someone…or something…

            In a panic she looked left and right to see what had moved but she couldn't see much since there was no light apart from the moonlight seeping in through the dirty windows. After finding nothing, she continued to stroll down the dark passage until she came to a door at the other end."

"What that?" Petrie quickly jumped in.

"Petrie! Quit interrupting! We wanna hear the rest of the story," Cera complained as Petrie had been constantly asking about human objects that none of them knew about but didn't want to stop the flow of the story.

"It's a big, flat piece of wood that blocks off one room to the next. Like how the trees section off this field from the Green Meadow. Understand?"

"OH! Me geddit!…me think?" Petrie replied scratching his head.

"Go on Jason," Littlefoot said giggling at Petrie's perplexity.

"So, she reached for the handle and…"

"Erm Jason. What a…"

"PETRIE!!!"

"Okay, me sorry! Me no ask."

"As I was saying. So, she reached cautiously for the handle and was just about to turn it when a loud whistle of the wind ran around the house and suddenly from behind, the windows smashed and shards of glass were thrown everywhere!" The group jumped as Jason raised his voice at this point. Cera gasped so much that she began choking on the smoke from the fire having accidentally inhaled some.

"Are you okay Cera?" Ducky asked clambering onto Spike's back again after falling off for a fourth time.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What did she do then Jason?" Littlefoot said completely immersed in the suspense.

"She quickly turned around to see what had broken the windows but the whole area was silent. Only the wind that blew the net curtains softly could be heard." Petrie opened his beak to say something but everyone threw him a threatening look so he quickly shut it again.

"The corridor was eerily quiet. Nothing made a sound so she turned back to the door and slowly turned the door handle. It clicked noisily and the rusty hinges creaked as the door swung open to reveal a spiral staircase leading down into the depths of the mansion. Taking a torch from the wall…a flaming stick Petrie…"

"Oh…okay," he said a little guiltily.

"She walked down the stairs and down to a large oak door. Pushing with all her might, the door opened and she peered inside." Jason had now lowered his voice to a soft whisper that forced the gang to lean in closer.

"On the other side of the door was a dark room and to her horror, she found that it was full of coffins just like the one in her boyfriend's room after he disappeared. They were lying everywhere, all over the place. She walked over to one of the coffins and slowly pushed back the lid…"

"W-what was in t-there?" Ducky asked in a quivering voice. Spike's eyes were wide with fear and anticipation.

"Nothing…"

"Nothing?" Cera blurted out confused, "there was nothing in there at all?"

"Hang on I'm getting to it! As she tried to investigate the coffin, she noticed a small piece of paper with some writing on it. She picked it up and began reading it. It was a note from her boyfriend and at the very bottom it read, 'GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN! RUN BEFORE THEY GET YOU!' She dropped the note gasping and started backing away from the coffin. But she didn't get very far when she backed into something. As she bumped into it, she felt something drip onto her shoulder. As turned around and she suddenly screamed."

"Wha…What was it?" Littlefoot jumped in surprise as Jason suddenly raised his voice from the soft whisper and leapt up.

"She was looking straight into the soul-sucked eyes of the flesh-eating zombie that had seized all of guests one by one. She struggled to get free and managed to topple the hideous monster in her thrashing. She ran for the door but it had closed behind her and it wouldn't open. As she struggled with the door, loud crashing noises suddenly erupted from behind her. She gasped in horror as she saw more zombies forcing their way out of the wooden coffins and started heading right for her!"

"Why doesn't she run?" Cera cried.

"There was nowhere to go! Zombies to her left, zombies to her right. Everywhere, zombies dragged their horribly mangled and diseased bodies over to her where they were ready to feast on her living flesh! They were now upon her and were about to…"

"OKAY! STOP! STOP!!!"

"What the matter Cera?" Petrie asked slightly trembling.

"That's enough. That's just going too far now!" Cera shouted.

"Hey! What's wrong Cera? I thought you weren't afraid of scary stories," Jason said calmly but added a sarcastic tone to his words.

"I'm not but…your…just getting way too nasty now!" she squealed shaking her head trying to get rid of the mental picture she had just created.

"Oh c'mon Cera! We wanna hear the end of the story," Littlefoot complained.

"Maybe I'd better stop, you know. Just in case I give you guys nightmares," Jason sighed.

"Oh! But I was enjoying it," Littlefoot whined.

"Sorry pal. Better I don't tell you the rest for tonight. Don't want to be responsible for any of you having sleepless nights for the next month."

"Oh we would not want that! Oh no, no, no!" Ducky said a little relieved that Jason had decided to stop. Spike nodded in agreement.

"So all those zombie things were created by one human?" Littlefoot asked wanting to develop on the story and remained relatively unphased.

"Uh huh. One man made a virus that spread amongst the guests of the mansion and they all turned into flesh-eating zomb…" Jason paused as he saw Cera's face go incredibly pale at the mere mentioning of the words "zombie" and "flesh-eating".

"Wow! I can't believe someone would do such a thing like that," Littlefoot continued.

"Yeah, I know. That was a story from a film shown a long time ago. None of it was real of course but strangely enough, a few decades down the line, a virus just like it spread out over London and killed nearly everyone."

"You mean, something like this has actually happened?"

"I'm afraid so Littlefoot. A virus escaped from a transportation pod travelling somewhere up north. The pod was destroyed and the virus got out and infected thousands of people. I was safe because I happened to be in one of the only places that couldn't possibly be infected."

"Where was that?" Ducky asked softly.

"The building that actually created the damn thing in the first place," Jason said, his tone becoming angry. Everyone looked at each other in awe.

"So, you escaped the illness?" Littlefoot asked cautiously just in case Jason became enraged by his question.

"Yeah. Me and my mother did. My brother and sister caught it and they didn't get better; even after they had been given the supposed cure of the virus. They said that it had mutated and changed form whilst they were receiving the treatment. They died alongside so many others. God it was horrible! Just seeing so many people lying dead in the streets and burning in wrecked vehicles after losing consciousness and crashing. All of that just because one man had some stupid ambition no one else knew about. He infected my hometown, the country and maybe even the entire world with his "creation" and now the human race lies in ruins."

"Well, I think your all pretty dumb for making such a thing if it's only gonna make you all sick," Cera barked indignantly.

"Humans are just like that Cera. We're so consumed by greed and our own self-consciousness to success and thrive that we'd forgotten our natural roots. Humans don't live like how dinosaurs or any other creature does. Humans don't eat treestars or drink from flowing streams. We evolved and developed and strayed from the path of nature and tried to fight against it. In the end, nature overpowered us and showed us the error of our ways but causing our own work to backfire upon us." Jason sighed heavily and the group fell silent.

"We were so foolish to do such a thing and it wasn't until our species nearly became extinct that we finally realised that we should have never turned out backs on nature. This is the fate of my kind. We destroy everything we touch and so something finally came and nearly destroyed us…" On those words, the field became deathly quiet as no one knew what to say as a response. Before anyone could utter a word, the gang heard calls from their parents. It was time for bed.

            As the group split up and everyone wished each other a goodnight, Littlefoot and Jason walked back home alongside their grandparents whose great thundering steps shook the ground slightly.

"Jason. Is it true what you said that humans destroy everything they touch?" Littlefoot asked Jason softly as they approached home. Jason nodded without raising his head to meet Littlefoot's eyes.

"But you're not like that. You haven't destroy anything. In fact you've saved and helped more dinosaurs than you've hurt coz you haven't harmed anybody."

"Not just me specifically Littlefoot. It's humans in general. Humans don't like to accept things for how they are. They are constantly trying to find out how much something is worth if they cut it down and sell it off as some stupid ornament. Humans don't like to accept anything outside what they have already devised as normal. I mean, I didn't even know dinosaurs could talk and that's what I was taught at school; that dinosaurs are dumb animals with no intelligence, but as soon as I arrived here, you disproved all of that." Jason suddenly flicked his head up as if something had just struck him.

"Littlefoot, I'm telling you. Humans are too untrustworthy. Never trust another human okay?" Littlefoot looked at him completely shocked.

"But…but you're the only human here Jason and I trust you…" he stammered.

"Yeah well don't trust anyone else. You shouldn't even be trusting me come to think of it!"

"…Jason…" he blinked once or twice in disbelief.

"I'm…I'm sorry Littlefoot. I'm just getting really worked up. It's just that remembering all that bad stuff that happened back in the year 2113…it always comes back to haunt me. Everything is just so peaceful and tranquil here I just can't imagine something as terrible as that viral outbreak that happened then to happen here too."

"Don't worry Jason it won't; it can't!" Littlefoot assured him, "You're a great human Jason as a friend and like a brother…" Jason smiled at Littlefoot's words and wrapped his arm over his head.

"Thanks Littlefoot, that means a lot to me you know. You always know the right things to say."

"It's okay Jason. Anyway, we'd better catch up with Grandma and Grandpa." Jason looked up and realised that they had stopped and their grandparents had wandered up ahead, leaving them behind. With a quick dash, they rejoined them and soon found themselves settling down into their beds.


	8. Part 6: The Invasion Begins

Chapter 28: Mysterious Sounds from the Mysterious Beyond 

            Two weeks have passed. Many herds had wandered in and out of the Great Valley with the changing season as the early signs of winter began to settle in. Ali's herd had moved out to continue their migratory path up to the High Hills and all of the Valley's residents were there to see them off. Grandpa Longneck had also wished them luck on their travels and stated that they were always welcome to the Valley and should return should anything go wrong or they lose their way. Much to the migrating herd's discretion, the herd found themselves returning as their newly strategised route had been cut off by land slides of what seemed to be unnatural nature not too far from the Valley border. The herd decided that the male longnecks were to clear a path as quickly as possible whilst females and the elderly members were to return to the Great Valley until the debris was cleared. To the gang's delight, this meant Ali was back to stay for a little while longer as the sheer mass of rocks was predicted to take a few days to clear and secure their route before setting off again.

            Since Ali's return, there had been a great level of disturbance and rumour spreading amongst the inhabitants of the Great Valley. There had been news about strange and bizarre sounds suddenly echoing and bellowing around the area; sounds of which no one had ever heard before.

"Sounds?" Ali asked curiously one dry, crisp day as the whispering winds swept the gold and red leaves that littered the ground and crunched underfoot.

"Yeah. Big booming sounds like thunder coming from somewhere out in the Mysterious Beyond. At least that's what everyone's been saying," Littlefoot replied.

"Do you think they could have something to do with the rock slides that have been happening just outside of the Valley?" Cera asked.

"Maybe because there have also been quite a lot of rock slides as well, there has," Ducky said.

"Yeah I know. The rock slide that all the male dinosaurs of my herd are trying to clear was huge. Lots of rocks and boulders had fallen on the mountain path and there is no other way around it."

"Can't your herd find another path that takes you up to the High Hills?" Jason asked having just arrived and catching on to the conversation.

"No. Those are the only ways we know and our leader says that our herd have used those paths to reach the High Hills for generations."

"What me no understand is why all land slides happen one after another like that. Nothing like that ever happen before," Petrie added scratching his head.

"Yeah, Petrie's right. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Could something be wrong?" Littlefoot said with a worried tone to his voice.

"There must be some logical explanation for all these slides and the strange noises that have suddenly cropped up out of nowhere. This sort of thing doesn't happen just like that," Jason said with his head resting in his hand in thought.

"What do you think it could be?" Ducky asked leaning closer to Jason for an answer.

"To be honest Ducky, I couldn't tell you. All these sudden rock slides seem weird."

"I'll tell you something that was really weird about the rock slides when we found the blocked path," Ali jumped in. Everyone focused in on Ali so they wouldn't miss a word.

"When we actually got to the where all the rocks were, we could see the mountain where all the rocks had fallen from."

"And? What's so weird about that?" Cera blurted in her normal, arrogant tone.

"All the rocks did not look like they had fallen from the top of the mountain. There was a big gap in the wall of the cliff where we walked almost as if the rocks had just tumbled out of the side of it."

"Huh?" Cera squinted in confusion, "That's stupid! How can rocks just fall from out of the side of the cliff? That's crazy!"

"But that's what it looked like Cera. It really did look like the rocks fell from out of the side of the mountain. There was also a funny smell around the area, kind of like the smell of burning trees after a fire." Everyone looked at each other wondering whether to believe Ali or not.

"That's odd," Jason said slowly as if to pick up on something.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked.

"What Ali said about the rocks. That sort of thing wouldn't happen normally unless it was a coastal cliff being eroded by the sea…and that smell you described."

"What's that mean for those of us who don't speak human talk?" Cera grunted.

"What I'm saying is that the sea, or big water, washes against a cliff and as it crash onto it, it can pull fragments of rocks off the cliff. It's called coastal erosion. It only happens near the se…big water but never this far inland."

"So what you think do it then?" Petrie cawed.

"I dunno. It could have been anything," Jason sighed, "perhaps it could have something to do with the bizarre noises we've been hearing recently."

"I still don't understand what you mean by 'bizarre noises'? What are you…" Ali began. She had been halted by a tremendously loud clattering noise that seemed to shake the entire field in which they were standing in. Everyone ducked at the sound as if a low flying projectile had just been launched in their direction.

"What was that?" Cera wailed.

"It is so loud, it is!" Ducky said nudging Spike for him to remove his forefeet from his ears and open his eyes again. Littlefoot stood upright and watched the panic-stricken flyer-type dinosaurs squealed and flee from the trees in the distance as they moved across the sky as a mass of black specks.

"Was that the sounds you were all talking about?" Ali asked cautiously as she found her feet again.

"Uh huh, but never that loud!" Petrie exclaimed.

"What do you think it was Jason?" Ducky asked and turned to him when he didn't answer. "Jason?" Jason was staring open-mouthed at the sky watching the scared flyers escaping in terror.

"Jason? What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked as he moved his head in front of Jason's field of view forcing him to blink and shake his head.

"Huh? Oh. N-nothing…" he replied still slightly mesmerised.

 "What up with you? Why the dumb face?" Cera said bluntly. Jason frowned but didn't say anything in retort. He suddenly turned on his heels as if about to take off.

"Will you guys excuse me for just a sec? There's something I need to check on."

"Hey, wait Jason? Where are you going?" Littlefoot shouted as Jason sped off.

"Need to check something! Be right back!" he hollered across the field leaving everyone dumbfounded but strangely inquisitive. Did Jason know something? With their curiosity getting the better of them, the group followed Jason into the trees hoping that he would explain a few things.

            Emerging from the bushes, the gang found Jason rummaging through his bag which was lying at the base of his sleeping tree. He had his back to them and hadn't noticed any of them but no one advanced on him just in case he became defensive. Jason's shuffling suddenly stopped, almost as if he had been injured by something. Through the shrubs, the gang saw Jason pull out a small blue object from the main compartment of his bag as he slowly rolled himself over to sit under his tree. It opened up just like his mother's book he had used to formulate the medicine to revive Cera's father. Jason's expression looked troubled and very serious which made something in Littlefoot's stomach drop rather uncomfortably. He suddenly felt that Jason had been thinking a lot about something rather personal but he didn't have the courage to confront him and ask him about it.

"What's up with him?" Cera whispered across the group.

"He looks sad. I wonder what is wrong," Ducky said softly.

"Has he told you anything Littlefoot?" Ali asked pulling her head from out of the bush and turning to Littlefoot.

"N…no. He hasn't said anything," he stammered without turning back to meet Ali's eyes. He remained focused on Jason trying to analyse his strange behaviour. He had seemed a little isolated from the rest of the group recently he had noticed but he never wanted to ask why just in case something happened like last time. Then, Littlefoot gasped quietly but the others picked up on it.

"What's the matter?" Cera asked quickly. Littlefoot didn't answer but he felt the sinking feeling drop even further as he saw Jason head disappear into his knees and his arms wrapped around them. Littlefoot felt couldn't suppress the urge any longer and slowly shuffled his way through the bush.

"Littlefoot!" Cera breathed forebodingly. He ignored her and kept moving leaving the others still in hiding.

"What he doing?" Petrie cawed quietly.

            As Littlefoot walked into the clearing, Jason gasped and jerked his head up to the sound of him rustling the leaves of the bush. It wasn't until he was practically nose-to-nose with him that Littlefoot stopped and began to speak.

"Jason…what's wrong? You can tell me…"

"I'm sorry Littlefoot. I can't. I'll end up feeling more pathetic and weak than I already am," Jason sighed dropping his head back down.

"What do you mean? You're not weak or pathetic…"

"Yes I am."

"What is it? Is it that book you were looking at? It is a book isn't it? I remember you telling me but I might have forgotten." Jason smiled.

"I just can't get anything past you can I?"

"So what is that?"

"It's my mother's diary. She used to write in it everyday about everything that happened in her day." Jason opened up the diary and Littlefoot leaned in to look at the neat, blue handwriting that curled in straight rows down the page.

"You can understand that?" he asked tilting his head sideways trying to decipher the alien symbols.

"Uh huh. My mother wrote everything in this diary. Everything up until… the day of…the virus outbreak." Jason then flinched at the sound of more rustling from where Littlefoot had emerged.

"It's alright. You don't have to hide anymore. I know you're all there," Jason beckoned across the clearing to the others. Cera poked her nose horn out from the greenery quickly followed by Ali and Spike (with Ducky and Petrie either side of him). The rest of the group crowded round Jason as he started telling them all about his mother's work on the perpetual energy source and their daring escape that only he survived. The group were spellbound by Jason's story but also felt an overwhelming regret for his loss.

"And that's how I ended up here in your world. That time door thing some of the higher ranking scientists must have been working on transported me here but before I recovered, the door closed behind me."

"So…you want to go back…is that it?" Littlefoot asked cautiously. Jason found he couldn't answer immediately.

"I…I…I don't know. I think…at least…I'd like to see it again…I'd like to see my world again despite how disgusting and desolate it seems…but…I also found that I enjoy my life here with you guys. Life is so much more fun and exciting, not to mention peaceful, but there's some part of me that…just…wants to…" The group fell silent as Jason sighed heavily.

"Would you…would you ever return to your world?…you know, if you had the chance," Ali said.

"I…I couldn't say. I wouldn't want to leave the Great Valley but… the reason I came back here to get my mother's diary was because that strange, supernatural storm and these sounds reminded me of my life back in the year 2113. It made me have reason to believe that…" Jason was interrupted in mid speech but another loud banging sound. It sounded very close as the soundwaves bounced off the mountains and echoed in the Valley.

"What that! It sound like earthshake!" Petrie said trembling from underneath Spike.

"No. It sounded more like the Smoking Mountain had just blown up!" Cera cried nervously.

"What was that?" Ali asked fearfully.

"I'm not sure but what worries me most is that it sounded very, very close to here," Jason said calmly with his vision fixed on the horizon.

"It came from over near there," Littlefoot said pointing with his head.

"But that over by Forest of Fear!" Petrie cawed shaking some more.

"Umm…The Forest of Fear eh?" Jason said suspiciously, "I think we need to delve a little further into that place if we're gonna get to the bottom of this…"

"Who's we? I'm not going back to that creepy place! We'll be in serious trouble if we're caught snooping around there. We were lucky not to get caught the first time!" Cera blurted.

"No one said you had to come Cera but I'm gonna check it out! I've gotta hunch just what might be making those banging noises," Jason said as he dropped his mother's diary into his pocket and began heading for the Forest of Fear.

"Wait for me Jason! I'm coming with you!" Littlefoot called.

"And me!" Petrie croaked and took flight.

"We are in too right Spike?" Ducky chirped as Spike agreed with a hefty head nod.

"You coming Cera?" Ali asked as she started off towards the moving group.

"Oh alright! Just because you guys forced me too!" Cera groaned and followed Ali to catch up with the others.

Chapter 29: The Unsolved Riddle of the Forest of Fear 

            Travelling through the Grazing Pasture and to the far western edge of the Great Valley, the group arrived at the Forest of Fear where they came to a sharp stop on its perimeter and all stared apprehensively into the dark woodland. Everyone was completely speechless but the nervous glances on each of their faces told them exactly what they were all feeling.

"Now what?" Cera asked in a slightly quivering voice.

"We…err…we should…go in I suppose…" Jason replied in between nervous cracks in his speech.

"I do not think we should be here, no, no, no," Ducky said trembling and clutching Spike's head.

"I know but, maybe we might find out what all the weird noises are about," Littlefoot said trying to keep everyone calm but he was feeling incredibly shaky himself, "besides, Jason said he might had an idea on what might be making the sounds."

"Couldn't you just tell us?" Cera complained.

"You wouldn't understand me if I tried. Anyway it's just a hunch. I'm gonna need proof to ensure I'm right," Jason said as coolly as possible but he could feel a rush of excitement surge through his body which made him jittery.

"But what if you don't find anything like last time? It'll just be a waste of time," Cera continued to whine.

"We have to make sure we find something then so this WON'T just be a big waste of time won't we Cera?" Jason snapped back without raising his tone of voice.

"Anyway Cera, if you don't want to come with us, why don't you go back home?" Littlefoot added.

"Because…because if you guys find anything, I wanna be there too! You gotta problem with that?!" she barked back. Littlefoot shook his head and then turned to Jason who turned to meet his eyes. Despite his worried expression, Littlefoot could see a strange, excited sparkle in his eye that made him realise that Jason was obviously on to something.

"Well…let's go then. I'll go first," Jason said stepping out of lateral line they all stood in. Taking a small gulp, Jason took a nervous step into the forest with Littlefoot following close behind. The others filed in one after another leaving Cera and Ali yet to enter.

"This is crazy! This is totally nuts! I can't believe I'm actually doing this!" Cera blabbered to herself.

"Maybe we shouldn't go," Ali said slowly.

"We have to otherwise Jason and Littlefoot would be on their own. Besides, I can't walk out on something like this. I want to find out what Jason has planned."

With those last, brave words, Cera entered the forest with Ali bring up the rear.

            In a single-filed line, the gang wandered their way deeper into the forest. All of them fearfully aware that they could all get lost in amongst the thin, gangly, branchless tree trunks. Jason, much to his discomfort, led the way through the trees with no clue to where he was going. The light from the Great Valley had now disappeared from behind them as they strolled further and further into the darkness. Petrie and Ducky had decided to hitch a ride on top of Spike to prevent themselves from being separated from the others but as they hopped on Spike, he yelped in fright which, in turn, made everyone else jump.

"Spike! Don't do that!" Littlefoot said sternly as he tried to get his breath back.

"Jeez Spike, you scare the treestars outta me!" Cera said frowning but also panting. The chatter was hushed by Jason who was barely distinguishable in the shallow light.

"What is it Jason?" Ali whispered from the back.

"I don't know but it seems to be getting strangely lighter for some reason," Jason mumbled.

"Yeah, so it has. What do you think it could be? It could possibly be the Bright Circle," Littlefoot said as low as he could.

"I think it might be… WHOA!!!" Jason suddenly lost his balance as his foot got caught on something embedded in the ground.

"Jason? Are you okay?" Ducky asked as she watched him get to his feet again.

"Yeah, I tripped on something." Jason turned to look at what he fell over and saw a fallen tree lying under some fallen leaves. He crouched down beside it to examine it closer.

"It's just a tree Jason. How clumsy are you?" Cera teased but Jason wasn't taking any notice.

"Hey guys look at this end," he called them over to the point were the tree had fallen from its stump. Everyone glared at the unnaturally smooth end of the tree stump and then at the base of the leaf-covered tree.

"What kind of dinosaur could push over a tree and make it break like that?" Ali asked.

"A sharptooth could have cut it with its claws maybe," Ducky suggested but Jason shook his head.

"No. This was not the work of a sharptooth or anything of the sort. No dinosaur could have made such a clean cut."

"Hey, what's this? There is black stuff around the rim! It looks like the tree was burned around the edges," Cera said poking the sooty bark with her nose horn.

"Hmm? Burn marks? Only laser blades can make those scorches…" Jason thought aloud. 

"So what could have done this?" Littlefoot jumped in.

"I think 'what' is the right question to ask Littlefoot."

"Look," Petrie pointed behind Jason, "more fallen trees. What could make so many trees fall down?"

"…Could it be?" Jason whispered. He quickly hopped upright and started off in the direction of the fallen trees.

"Hey Jason! Wait up!" Littlefoot called after him.

            The path of destruction led them deeper still into the forest. By now, all of them had temporarily forgotten their fear of the haunted woods as they were all puzzling over what could have destroyed so many trees which all bore the same smooth, slash wounds at their base accompanied by the suspicious burn markings. All the dinosaurs were keen to know what might be churning around in Jason's head as they continued to wander aimlessly along the path. After about an hour of walking, the gang decided to stop for a short rest. Littlefoot quickly advised none of them to sample any of the leaves as they'd probably suffer the same gut-wrenching taste as he did. One by one, they flopped down, kicking up leaves in their impact. Cera was the last to collapse but she quickly jumped up again in pain as something crunched under her weight.

"ARRGGHH!!! What was that!" she yelped, cart-wheeling her way awkwardly away from her impact point. Jason got up and brushed away the leaves that covered a smooth, silky looking black surface (now with a dent in it). Digging a little further in, Jason then picked up the strange object and examined it. Everyone packed in tightly to get a closer look in the dim light.

"What is it?" Ducky asked enchanted by it.

"Some sort of black, plastic box?" Jason said rotating it. He swivelled it around and noticed a thin slit working its way around three of the four sides of the flat box. Jason pushed the top half up and it opened. Jason gasped in disbelief.

"It's…It's a…"

"What is it?" Ali asked leaning in closer.

"It's a laptop computer!!!" Jason breathed. As the top half flipped up, the screen flicked white and the cooling fan hummed noisily. The group were dumbstruck as the computer came to life.

"What is this thing? Is it yours Jason?" Cera said abruptly. Jason's eyes widened fearfully.

"No…it's not mine!" he said almost whispering.

"Then it must be someone else's," Ducky then said innocently.

"YES. It is!"

"Wait a second! Are you saying that there are other humans here?!" Cera jumping to a rather hasty conclusion.

"…Yes Cera! There must be other humans here!" Jason replied completely awestruck.

            Everyone's attention was quickly re-diverted back to the laptop which had beeped and a new message had popped up on the screen.

"What does it say?" Littlefoot asked from over Jason's shoulder.

"'Insert disk into drive," Jason read out, "this computer needs a disk to operate."

No sooner had Jason said that, Spike flinched having trodden on something laying in the undergrowth. He flicked his nose in the leaves and pulled out a square, plastic object.

"Spike wait! Give that here, I need that," Jason barked. Spike dropped the disk in Jason's hand and waddled back to where he was standing. Just as Jason was about to slip the disk into the drive, a rustling came from along the path of fallen trees. Snapping the laptop screen back down, Jason placed the disk in his pocket and carried the computer under his arm before leading the way back along the path.

            Before long, the group came to what appeared to be an unnatural clearing. The area of fallen trees looked as if some rampaging threehorn had torn through the woods and demolished everything in its path. In the centre of the clearing was what appeared to be some sort of small bunker or hut surrounded by a metal wire fence. The clearing looked as if the bunker had literally fallen on top of the trees and crushed them as pieces of sawn off trees laid sprawled around the area randomly and a few still remained trapped under the building.

"Wow! What is that?" Littlefoot gasped in amazement. Nobody else could say anything. Their words had gotten lodged somewhere in their throats and couldn't seem to flow from their hanging mouths.

"It's…its some sort of base it looks like," Jason whispered.

"Could there be other humans in there?" Ali asked somewhat sheepishly.

"It…it looks deserted," Jason replied as he scanned the clearing for signs of life but found no one.

"You think it's safe?" Petrie cawed nervously but curiosity had already gripped Littlefoot and Jason as they wandered into the clearing. The others hurried after them.

            Littlefoot and Jason strolled right up to the metal fence and looked up and down at the one-storey building as the others got in line.

"How do you think this got here Jason?" Littlefoot asked.

"I dunno. Maybe it's got something to do with that weird storm we saw a little while ago, remember?" he replied.

"Oh yeah. Is that why you looked so shocked when you saw it?"

"Yeah. It looked just like the sparks that flew off the time door that I travelled through. Ever since that and that strange dream I had about that old longneck in that room full of sparkling waterfalls I told you about, I've been thinking that maybe humans have travelled here the same way I did. I wonder…" Jason placed the laptop down slowly beside him and raised a hand to examine the fence.

"Hey Petrie. What do you suppose this yellow thing means?" Ducky asked as she eyed a yellow symbol.

"Me no know! Why that human getting hurt by thunder flash?" Petrie replied as he analysed the sign.

"Can you guys hear a faint buzzing noise?" Ali then added as she strained to listen.

"Yeah I do, but I can't see any buzzing stingers around. Maybe Jason knows. Hey Jason! What does this mean?" Cera said just as she saw Jason come into contact with the fence. Jason suddenly jerked upright and began shuddering rather erratically. The group gasped in horror as he continued to shake violently.

"What's happening to him?!" Littlefoot cried desperately.

"He is being thunder-striked!" Ducky yelped helplessly, "Do not touch him otherwise you will be thunder-striked too!" Littlefoot let out a hopeless sigh as he could do nothing but watch Jason jerk around as the electric current flowed through him.

            After a few tense seconds, Jason suddenly twitched and as if by a reflex action, his hand snapped off the fence and he was thrown backwards before landing in a crumpled heap in the leaves.

"JASON!!!" Littlefoot cried as he ran to meet him. Jason twitched again and slowly sat up.

"Oh man! What happened?" he said nauseously.

"You were being thunder-striked!" Ducky said worryingly.

"Are you okay?" Ali called to him from across the clearing as she came to join the crowd.

"I think so. My hands are a bit burned but I'm okay," Jason said getting to his feet slowly, "okay, I can safely say the place is protected by an electric fence."

"So what now?" Cera asked. Before anyone could answer, there was a loud bang and shuffling could be heard heading in their direction.

"I think we'd better get out of here!" Jason called as he forced his aching muscles to start moving.

"Quick let's go!" Cera called as she began back-tracking along the path of fallen trees.

"Wait! The laptop," Jason said as he skidded and ran back for the computer that laid on the dry leaves by the fence. He snatched up the laptop and chased after the others as the shuffling grew louder. Puffing and panting, they ran back to the first fallen tree to stop and recover.

"What's all this about?" Ali said between drawing breaths.

"I don't know but I bet the information we need is on this disk," Jason replied slapping his thigh in which the disk rested in his pocket. "C'mon, we'd better get out of here."

"Look! There our old foot-holes!" Petrie cawed.

"How can you see them? It's way too dark," Cera asked trying to stare hard at the ground.

"Petrie's eyesight is a lot more keen than our. He'll be able to show us the way out," Jason said signalling for Petrie to lead the way.

"C'mon, let's get out this place. It's really starting to give me the creeps!"

Chapter 30: Fears Become Reality 

            Upon reaching the edge of the Forest of Fear, the gang made a beeline straight for the Green Meadow whilst everything they had just seen tried to sink in. No one knew what to say due to the mixed emotions that everyone displayed on their faces; most concerning of all was the expression scored into Jason's face like an artist's carving. Littlefoot was trying to guess what Jason was feeling having seen remainders of human life again. There was still a slight ambiguity about the presence of humans being present in the Valley despite seeing the abandoned shelter. Littlefoot could feel a growing concern that Jason would become more isolated as his gaze slowly moved from his face down to the black box he had tucked, rather tightly, under his arm as they past through the penultimate thicket to reach the meadow.

            The Green Meadow was buzzing with excited talking about the mysterious noises getting ever closer to the Great Valley. The gang found all their parents in their usual discussion area to debate over the cause of the unnatural sounds that still echoed over their home and creating a growing disturbance. Stopping on the edge of the ring of quarrelling adults, everyone in the group turned and looked at someone else, all with their thoughts focused on the same question. Should they tell the elders what they had just discovered? Doing so, they faced the risk of being scolded for going into the Forest of Fear despite being forbidden to but even more so, what would their reaction be if they knew that there was a potential threat of more humans entering the dinosaur realm? The depressing looks everyone could read from each other told them precisely what they should do, but the biting sensation in the pits of their stomachs told them that it would be better if they pretended that they didn't know anything.

            Jason turned on his heels and returned to the last thicket with the others following him one by one. He placed the laptop on the ground and sat between a tree's great, looping roots.

"Jason…You okay?" Petrie said solemnly as he perched above him.

"Yeah, I'm fine Petrie," Jason replied smiling awkwardly.

"What are we going to do? Do you think we should tell them?" Ducky asked hopping forward as Spike strolled into the thicket and headed for the nearest bush.

"I don't know. We'll get in so much trouble we'll probably be restricted to staying at home for ages! We probably won't get to see each other for quite a while if they knew," Littlefoot said shaking his head.

"More worrying than that Littlefoot is how they're gonna take it? If humans really are wandering around outside the Great Valley and causing such a commotion, which we can't prove because we haven't seen anybody else, do you honestly think the elders are gonna just shrug it off like it was nothing?" Jason said without raising his head.

"But we've got that funny black thing. Isn't that proof enough?" Cera jumped in.

"This stuff means nothing Cera. Just because we found a few items that belong to human civilisation doesn't instantly mean humans are here. It could be that they transported a remote base through time as a test and no one else came with it. Or perhaps, they were just sent here with the intension to bring humans but they only teleported their stronghold here and didn't manage to come along with it," Jason answered in a degrading tone.

"So how will we know?" Ali asked still trying desperately to get on top of everything that has just happened.

"We won't, but I think this computer and floppy disk will give us a few answers," Jason said getting to his feet and picking up the laptop. He began to walk out of the thicket as the gang started to follow. Jason then stopped abruptly.

"Guys…do me a favour…let me look at the data on my own. I'll be able to concentrate better if you guys weren't looking over my shoulder all the time," he said sternly without even turning to face them. Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.

"So what do you expect us to do until you're finished, just go off and play and pretend none of this ever happened?" Cera shouted angrily at his back.

"You guys can decide whether we should tell the adults what we know. Whatever you're decision is fine with me because you know I feel the same way about all of this."

"DO you Jason? Are you SURE about that?" Littlefoot asked probingly, adding a little more emphasis to his words than he initially intended. Jason snapped around to face Littlefoot in shock. Littlefoot flinched at his reaction and shrunk back awaiting his answer. He didn't say anything but simply bowed his head and walked out of the thicket towards home.

"You can come and check on me a bit later okay? I'll tell you everything I find…" he called over his shoulder.

            The thicket remained eerily quiet as the rest of the gang tried to decide what to do next. After a few minutes pondering and weighing up the pros and cons on whether they should tell the adults, the debate then ended with an uneasy decision.

"So it's settled then. We're gonna tell the grown-ups about the Forest of Fear," Littlefoot said assertively.

"Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped.

"Petrie not like idea but it better that grown-ups know about it," Petrie said apprehensively.

"Yeah, I'm with you guys," Ali said with a broad smile.

"Cera? What's your choice?" Littlefoot asked.

"Well…I do want the adults to know but…"

"But what?"

"Can't we change the story a little? I mean, they don't have to know we went to the Forest of Fear right? If my dad ever found out about us going in there, he'll have my horn!"

"She do have point Littlefoot. Why no tell grown-ups we find human things somewhere else?" Petrie said suddenly changing his tone.

"But what if they ask us to take them there?" Littlefoot protested.

"We could just say…um…Jason said that humans could be anywhere around there and could be dangerous."

"But if we tell them that, they will definitely be worried. Remember that Jason said we don't want to cause a panic otherwise we could get into even more trouble."

"Can't we just leave the bit about the Forest of Fear out? Please! Even if the adults do take it well, my dad is going to have me babysitting the twins for the rest of my life! I'll never be able to leave his sight for a second! Please Littlefoot?" Littlefoot sighed. Cera was genuinely concerned that her father would over-react to the news but he didn't like the idea of lying to his grandparents.

"Alright. We'll try to avoid mentioning about the forest. Maybe we could say that we found it laying around somewhere." Cera breathed a big sigh of relief. Littlefoot stood up and looked out into the Green Meadow at the rally of dinosaurs still quarrelling. A feeling of dread shuddered down him as he began walking towards them. Ali hurried to walk beside him and smiled to lift his spirits. He smiled back but the fear was still looming inside making him nervous. Nevertheless, his legs kept moving forward as if they had a mind of their own.

            Littlefoot and the gang stopped just outside the ring just as the debate became more heated. Small, quiet discussions had suddenly transformed into shouts and bellows from some dinosaurs as they stared up at the swinging tails of each of the herds. Littlefoot, swallowing hard, stepped forward in between a longneck's legs and looked up at his grandfather. Grandpa Longneck, having just noticing Littlefoot and his friends, broke eye contact with the rest of the dinosaurs to gaze down on him, smiling warmly.

"Hello children. What is the matter? Why aren't you off playing?"

"Grandpa…we…we need to talk to you about something."

"Well, can't it wait Littlefoot? We're in the middle of discussing about the strange, banging noises."

"It's about that Grandpa…we…we think…we might know what is making the noises." Littlefoot gritted his teeth as the circle became deathly silent.

"Really? Do you know something about them?" With a quick glance at the rest of the gang, Littlefoot took a deep breath and began explaining everything they had discovered.

            The circle of adults was dumbfounded by Littlefoot's story. Confused chatter broke out amongst them.

"And…you're saying that you, Jason and your friends found some things that belong to humans Littlefoot?" Grandpa Longneck asked slowly.

"Yes Grandpa. A funny black thing and strange cave made of stone," Littlefoot replied.

"Where are they now?" Ducky's mother asked stepping further into the circle.

"Jason's got the black thing…I think be called it…a…a com-com-putterer or something like that," Ali said backing up Littlefoot.

"And what about the stone cave?" Cera's father asked rather sternly. The group fell silent.

"Petrie hear from other flyer that it out in Mysterious Beyond somewhere but nobody in it!" Petrie yelled out quickly. The group glared at him in awe but all quickly nodded.

"Where is Jason now?" Grandma Longneck asked the six of them.

"He's somewhere looking at that…computterer thing. He said it might have a few answers on it," Littlefoot said promptly. Something then quickly snapped in his head.

"Oh! He said we should meet up with him in a little while to check what he's found! Can I go find him Grandpa?"

"Of course Littlefoot, but please return here once you've spoken to him so we can all find out more about the situation."

"Okay Grandpa," Littlefoot chirped as he bounded out of the circle.

            Having escaped the piercing eyes of the elders, Littlefoot and the gang stopped in the thicket again and they all sighed heavily with relief. Surprisingly they had taken it very well and no punishment was given out for their disappearances.

"That went much better than I thought it would," Cera said happily.

"Yeah. Only because we left out the most important detail!" Littlefoot criticised but was just as pleased at the ease of the conversion with the adults.

"So what now?" Petrie cawed as he landed behind Cera's neck shield.

"We have to find Jason. I bet he went home to look at it since nearly everybody was in the Green Meadow. C'mon let's go see him," Littlefoot said with a playful leap to his step.

            It didn't take the gang long to find Jason tapping away at the keyboard of the laptop under his sleeping spot. As they approached him, Jason waved them over frantically with one hand to hurry them. They all crowded around the tiny machine as strange symbols rolled around the screen, completely impossible for the dinosaurs to decipher.

"How's it going Jason?" Littlefoot asked over his shoulder.

"Not bad. I'm managed to find out a bit about the base in the forest but I'm just looking through some of the profiles. It's just loading up now," he replied. Cera twisted and turned her head in weird angles as the symbols scrolled across the screen.

"What are all those funny black, stick things?"

"They're letters. Humans developed these symbols as a way of communicating. It's the words you speak only written down."

"Like what?" Ali asked just as confused as Cera.

"Like this…" Jason said as he picked up a stick and began scratching a word into the soil.

"What that say?" Petrie asked flying down to inspect it more closely.

"That's how we write your name Littlefoot. If I showed that to another human, they could read it and they'd say your name." The group was amazed; Littlefoot even more so to see his own name scored out in the ground in strange symbols.

"Could you teach us how to use them?" Littlefoot asked merrily.

"Maybe some other time. Hey! The profiles are coming up." Everyone's attention was drawn to the screen as the data Jason had requested appeared. Jason scrolled through the text, reading it out loud to his friends so they knew what it all meant.

"I don't believe it!" Jason yelled out in surprise.

"What?!" the gang all cried in unison.

"All this information is recorded data of a top-secret project set up and run by Red Phoenix Laboratories!"

"Who?" Cera asked.

"Red Phoenix Labs is the conglomerate that was responsible for the viral outbreak all that time ago. Remember the story I told you all about and how I lost my mother. She was working for them at the time. Anyway, this data is a record of the tests and experiments of some sort of developing energy source. I can't figure all of it out but it's got something to do with…!!!" Jason was silenced by the next screen that popped up on screen.

"What is it?" Ali asked flicking between Jason's thunderstruck expression and the illegible symbols.

"This…this is the project my mother was working on! The perpetual energy source! Energy that never runs out! It looks like the project was continued but…mum said the project was scraped due to insufficient fundings. What's going on?" Jason scrolled through more text, graphs and diagrams that didn't make any sense to him. It was far too complicated for him to understand without explanation.

            Sifting through more files, Jason then accessed personnel profiles which gave details of those responsible for working on the project. To his shock, most of the scientists' profiles all bore a red box across them reading "deceased". Eager to find more, Jason kept reading through the profiles hoping he would eventually come to his mother's profile. He was shocked to realise that she wasn't on there.

"What! This can't be right! My mother's profile isn't on this database! She was one of the leading scientists on the team! Why isn't she…" Something had just caught Jason's eye. Opening a file named, "High-personnel and other Experiments", Jason looked for links to other documents looking for his mother's profile.

"What? Oh no! Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked rubbing his nose as Jason swung his head backwards in anguish, head butted him.

"What's that funny, flashing red thing?" Cera asked poking her head closer.

"It's a security wall. I need level four clearance to pass it."

"Why can you not pass it?" Ducky asked curiously.

"I need a password…it's a special word that will gain me access to the confidential files in this folder. I can't get into the folder without it." Just as Jason began racking in brain for a compatible password, the computer screen began to jitter. It flickered abnormally before turning completely black.

"Oh great! Just great!"

"What happened?" Ali asked worryingly.

"The battery pack's dead. I can't access anymore files until the pack's recharged. Dammit!"

"What now then?" Cera said glumly.

"I think we'd better head back to the Green Meadow and tell the elders about this," Littlefoot said boldly.

"So you told them then?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, they seemed fine about it but they want to hear what you've got to say Jason. We'd better get back to them."

"Okay. C'mon, let's go!" Jason said jumping to his feet. He slammed the lid of the laptop down and followed the gang back to the meadow.

            All the adult dinosaurs were eager to hear what Jason had to say about the discovery of the new human items and the base. Littlefoot had already forewarned Jason that Petrie had managed to pull a fast one over on them by telling them that he heard about the base from another flyer. With that in mind, Jason began explaining as well (and as simplistically as he could) the circle of elders that stood awaiting his arrival with baited breath. It wasn't long before the discussion quickly escalated and uncontrollable chatter broke out amongst them all.

"Are you saying that more humans are wandering around the Great Valley right now?" Mr. Threehorn bellowed seriously.

"No sir. What I'm saying is that there is a possibility that humans maybe here but not in the Valley. Perhaps outside, if there are any," Jason replied feeling slightly overpowered. The numerous pairs of eyes locked onto him, absorbing every word wasn't relieving pressure.

"Well…who are these…creatures? These humans?" someone called from behind the group.

"I believe they are a set of people from the Red Phoenix Laboratory Corporation. They specialise in medical and scientific research in the hope of creating revolutionary products to help mankind. They are known worldwide for their work and everyone had at least tried one or two of their merchandise. Anyway, they were also responsible for the outbreak of a virus that killed many humans to the point we feared that the human race would be destroyed completely. I was one of a few survivors of the outbreak and it was one of their machines that brought me here. If humans have managed to teleport themselves to the dinosaur realm, I'd imagine they have set up some sort of base and are examining the terrain."

"But what do they want? Why would they come here?" Ducky's mother suddenly cried.

"I…I don't know…the data on the laptop suggests that they maybe testing the machine that brought me here accidentally. I can't say exactly what they want but I'm just saying that they could be here but there is no real evidence they are…" A loud rumbling echoed over the Valley in which everyone ducked and wailed in fear.

"Could the humans be making these strange earthshake sounds? Could they have caused the rock slides that have prevent me and my herd from migrating up to the High Hills?" Ali's leader asked coarsely.

"If…if they are present then yes…b-but there could be many other explanations."

"But surely if they are creatures of your kind Jason, they will be just as peaceful and helpful as you have been wouldn't they?" Grandpa Longneck asked trying to warm the conversion with a smile.

"I'm afraid not Grandpa. Personnel from the Red Phoenix Lab Corp. cannot be trusted. They're dangerous people who wouldn't understand the way this world works," Jason said gravely, "the business also has its own military. Humans trained to kill intruders who attempt to interfere or pose a threat to their work. I was lucky to escape with my life when I raided their ruined headquarters in my hometown in London." The circle suddenly became erratic and unsettled at these words. Many dinosaurs began firing random questions at Jason, desperate to know more. Trying frantically to answer as many as possible, Jason felt he had done exactly what he had hoped wouldn't happen. He had unintentionally caused a panic and it was spiralling out of control. Grandpa Longneck quickly took over.

"Please my friends! We must not take our frustration out on Jason. He has merely tried to inform us of the situation that may be at hand but we don't know for sure. Either way, I believe we should heed his warning and be on our guard. If there are humans from this group Jason speaks of here in the dinosaur world, then we must not anger them in case anything misfortunate occurs if they have the ability to cause injury and possibly death also. I advise we all carry on as normal and hopefully all this will settle down." As Grandpa Longneck finished his speech, the ring broke up and everyone strolled off all mumbling amongst their small groups.

            Jason flopped down exhausted. He had never been at the centre of such a heated discussion with so many worried and troubled dinosaurs firing questions at him from all angles. The gang closed around him as he puffed in mild relief. Jason looked up at each of them and smiled bravely.

"You alright?" Littlefoot asked sitting down beside him.

"Yeah. That was tough though. So many questions! Whew!" he wheezed.

"Well, I'm glad you told us children," Grandpa Longneck said looking down on all of them.

"Yes. Now that everyone here knows, they will tell others in the Valley and the word will spread. It is best that everyone is informed and are alert rather than something happening unexpectedly," Grandma Longneck agreed with a warm smile. The gang beamed back feeling as if their spirits had been relieved of a mighty load.

"You children should go and play for now. Today has been very hectic and you could all probably do with some fun. Go and enjoy yourselves," Grandma Longneck said invitingly. Everyone's smiles grew wider as Littlefoot and Jason leapt to their feet.

"So what's the game then?" Cera asked.

"Well…we should play…" Jason slurred playfully. He slowly slipped closer to Ali.

"Play what?" Ducky asked, standing poised to run.

"We should play…TAG!!! You're it Cera!" Jason called making a sudden switch and slapping her on the rump.

"Hey! No fair! You were going for Ali!" Cera whined.

"Fooled ya! Nyah, nyah!" he taunted sprinting across the meadow closely followed by everyone else to distance themselves from Cera.

"Oh yeah! I'll get you for that Jason!" she bellowed and gave chase. Jason just giggled and ducked in some long grass as Cera tried to pounce on him but missed and landed heavily on her face. In an instant, the stress and antagonising pain of the circle was lifted and had melted from their thoughts in a fit of laughter.

            As the day wore on, Littlefoot, Jason and everyone else soon forgot about the troubles and worries of the earlier discoveries. Rolling around on the soft grass, the game of tag had quickly transformed into a wrestling match with everyone diving on someone else. Jason constantly found himself under attack from Cera and was winded by Spike who pounced on him from behind.

"Okay, okay! I give!" Jason yelled laughing, "Let me outta here will ya?"

"HA!" Cera said cocking her head, "That'll teach you for messing with me!"

"Hey! Spike was doing all the work! You just tripped me over and made him flatten me!"

"So. I still got you didn't I?"

"C'mon you guys! New game! Boys versus girls this time!" Littlefoot called excitedly.

"No fair! There are four boys and only three girls!" Ali whined.

"What you mean? Cera probably as strong as all of us put together!" Petrie cawed.

"Nah! She's just stubborn, not strong," Jason taunted, winking at Littlefoot.

"What's that?! You are so dead!" Cera warned pawing the ground.

"Bring it on rhino girl! Show me what you got!" With that, Cera charged headlong into Jason who quickly leapfrogged over her. Once Jason's feet touched the ground, the two sides rushed at each other.

            With the game in full swing, the adults kept a watchful on the meadow's surroundings for anything peculiar. They were all pleased that the rumbling had stopped and they all began to relax and enjoy the warm rays of the late autumn sun as the whipping of the breeze swept the golden leaves of the trees. Eventually, the friendly melee turned into a free-for-all as Cera took on Spike and Ali, Ducky was dangling from Petrie's feet as he desperately tried to lift off the ground and Littlefoot pounced on Jason, pinning him to the floor. Rolling and sprawling on the soft grass, Littlefoot and Jason tumbled around constantly throwing each other off and laughing jovially. Just as Littlefoot rolled over to pin Jason again, a loud, high-pitched wailing suddenly approached them. Littlefoot and Jason looked up to find the threehorn twins, Dinah and Dana, running straight towards them at full speed.

"Whoa twins! Where's the fire?" Jason called from under Littlefoot.

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked trying to keep up with their excited little bounds.

"Two-legs! No-ie us-ie! Greeny-foo mooshie! Greeny-foo no-ie no, no!" Dinah squealed.

"Yah, yah! Greeny-foo na-na moosh!" Dana agreed.

"What? What's that about the green food moving?" Jason asked puzzled. The twins quickly darted to Cera leaving Littlefoot and Jason dumbfounded.

"What was that all about?" Littlefoot asked screwing up his face in wonder.

"I dunno," Jason shrugged before he rolled over and threw Littlefoot to the ground, starting the game again. Their joy didn't last for very long as a tremendous roar sounded from across the meadow. Jason, who had managed to get pinned again, looked in the direction of the yelling. He gasped to see something running towards him holding a long silvery stick.

"Hurry! Move kid!" it shouted to him raising the stick. Jason threw Littlefoot off him and scrambled to his feet. He charged at the creature. Littlefoot followed Jason's path and gasped in shock. Another human was standing in the meadow with its stick pointing at him.

"No! Don't shoot!" Jason screamed as he dived into the man, tackling him to the ground. The gun was knocked into the air and the shot blasted skywards before landing in the grass between Jason and the man. The shot rang out over the Green Meadow making every inhabitant stare at the two humans, completely thunderstruck.

            Once both Jason and the man had recovered from hitting the floor, they both looked up at each other. For a brief second, they were both stunned by each other's presence. Jason then followed the man's eyes down to the shotgun lying at their feet. Their eyes locked again. Suddenly, the man made a quick scramble to his feet but Jason dove onto the weapon picking it up in a roll. With his hands on the shotgun, Jason pointed it directly at the man who instinctively raised his hands in surrender. Silence fell over the meadow as all the dinosaurs stood staring at the two of them utterly bewildered.

"What the hell are you doing kid?!" the man screamed in anguish.

"I was about to ask you the same question," Jason replied coolly.

"Put the gun down! I'm here to save you!"

"Save me? Do you have any idea what you were about to do?!"

"That crazed dinosaur was about to crush you into dust!"

"What! For your information, that "crazed dinosaur" happens to be my friend!"

"C'mon kid. You're mad! He was about to waste you! Now put the gun down…you'd never shoot me!" The man cracked a sinister, little smirk. Jason felt a burning growing inside as he read the smug look on his face. In anger, he cocked the shotgun, loading a live round into the barrel. The man's smile quickly faded. Jason slowly approached the man with the weapon constantly pointing at the man's chest. Without taking his eyes off him, Jason slipped forward and pulled the man's back-up pistol from out of its holder and tossed it behind him.

"What are you doing?" the man protested.

"Shut up! Why did you come here?" Jason barked. He then looked down at the man's right arm and noticed the emblem that was sewn into his uniform.

"That symbol? You're with the Red Phoenix Labs Corporation aren't you?" The man remained silence.

"Answer me!" Jason warned edging the gun closer to his face.

"Yeah, I am. What's it to you?" the man replied arrogantly.

"Are there more of your kind around here?" Before the man answer, the man's left shoulder crackled and a voice was heard.

"Alex, report your status…" The man looked at Jason but he glared back warning him not to touch it. "…Private Alex McNamara report your status immediately…McNamara! Respond!" The radio then crackled with static and then died.

"Humph! Possibly the most technologically enhanced corporation in the entire world and they're resorting to using kid's walkie-talkies," Jason snorted.

"You'd better lower that gun kid. My squad are heading for us now since I didn't respond to my status call," the man smiled again.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Jason said a little shaky.

"Kid! You'd better not resist coz the squad will not take this very lightly."

"I said SHUT UP!" Jason was beginning to panic. He knew that the squad would come for him. He had to do something quickly. Before he could think, more roars could be heard from across the meadow. The bushes shook violently as if alive.

"FREEZE! DROP YOUR WEAPON!!!" Jason gaped in horror. More men, in the same uniform as his hostage, leapt out from the bushes and held their guns directly at him. Some tore out of the shrubbery on motorcycles, frightening residences and sending them fleeing for their lives. He was completely surrounded from all sides.

"Drop the shotgun kid!" the hostage said haughtily lowering his arms knowing that Jason was no longer a threat. Defeated, Jason lowered the shotgun and dropped it to the ground. The squad quickly advanced on him and pinned him to the floor savagely. In the meantime, all the dinosaurs were utterly horrified but heeding Jason's earlier warning, none of them dared to say anything. The gang had to hold Littlefoot back from charging blindly into the ring of humans who held Jason prisoner.

"Enough! Let him stand!" one man called to the squadron in a dominant voice. The men lifted up off Jason and he stood up painfully to find himself face to face with a tall man who held his head high. He, too, was dressed in uniform but his design made him look much more important. His face bore a large scar down one side and he stood with a menacing posture towering at nearly six foot, seven. His hair was black and shaven with all his features extra large from his large, square shaped head to his massive, black polished boots. Next to him stood a woman with short-length, brown wavy hair. Her face was beautifully toned which was partially hidden by a thin-lipped beret that bore the same glowing, red bird in amongst a red and gold fire. Standing at about five foot, six inches, Jason found her much less intimidating than the man to her right but her glare was still icy. The last man, who stood alongside a vicious-looking Alsatian, looked very young but appeared very strongly built. As he stood next to the man in the centre, he came up to his right shoulder which Jason guessed he must have been about six foot, two or maybe a little taller.

"Who are you people?" Jason asked sternly. For some strange reason, he could sense something familiar about the three dominant looking people that stood in front of him.

"We are members of an elite military that works in conjunction with Red Phoenix Laboratories. I believe you are the target we have been searching for," the large man stated.

"Target? I'm a target!" Jason asked dumbstruck, "What do you want with me?"

"I'm afraid that his classified information. I must say I'm quite impressed you managed to hold one of my team members hostage. It seems we underestimated your abilities. I think an entire team evaluation is required when we get back to base." The man Jason held up lower his head shamefully as the large man's eyes scanned across the black and red uniformed soldiers.

"What are you guys doing here? You have no right to be here! Who the hell do you think you are!" Jason yelled.

"We don't have a right? Listen to that kid talk!" the young man with the dog taunted.

"Sergeant! Shut it!" the woman barked, "Now, what's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?" Jason replied childishly. His mind quickly flicked to the safety of all the inhabitants of the meadow who all stood crept silently forward.

"We require you to return with us to the base for questioning. Please, do not offer any resistance or we will be forced to use drastic measures," the tall man forewarned.

"I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here!" Jason shouted back. His anger was building.

"Don't be stupid kid! We don't wanna harm you! It'll be a waste of ammo," the dog-trainer jumped forward. The dog stood on all fours, ready to pounce on command.

"I can't go! No one will allow me!"

"What do you mean by that?" the woman asked inquisitively. Jason rolled his arms around the field at all the dinosaurs standing around them. The squad looked around to see many different dinosaurs ranging from clubtails to longneck to threehorns all staring at the small ring they had formed around Jason.

"Are you saying these dinosaurs won't let you go?" the woman asked flicking her hair out of her eyes.

"These are my friends and family. I've already warned them that humans could be wandering around the area. Can't you see? They're all scared stiff of you since I told them they you kill indiscriminately."

"What! What do you mean you "told" them?" the woman continued.

"They're not dumb animals like we used to think. These dinosaurs are intelligent and sophisticated creatures that have real feelings and talk!"

"What's that?! You're insane kid!"

"It's true! I'm not lying!"

"You…"

"Enough!" the large man bellowed, "Whether or not what you say is true is neither here nor there. We are here to retrieve you and return to base. Now, don't make this difficult."

Jason edged back. He looked deep into the man's eyes for an understanding but he got no response. Instead, he heard the woman to the leader's left gasp silently and focus on something just beyond him. Jason looked around to see Littlefoot trying to push his way through the circle.

"Littlefoot! Wait! Don't hurt him!" Jason begged.

"Stand down!" the leader barked. The edge of the circle folded and Littlefoot ran to stand beside Jason. Jason stroked his head lovingly. He was greatly relieved to have him standing next to him.

"Are you okay Jason? Did they hurt you?" Littlefoot whispered.

"Nah! They're just big bullies! Don't worry," Jason said calmly. The squadron were flabbergasted. They all fidgeted and leaned in closer to Jason and Littlefoot. Feeling extremely self-conscious and vulnerable, Littlefoot shrunk closer to Jason to distance himself from the prying eyes of the soldiers.

"Did…? Did that dinosaur just speak?" the woman asked thunderstruck.

"Indeed he did!" Jason replied complacently.

"Why are you being so horrible? Why do you need to take Jason away?" Littlefoot called sympathetically. No one could answer. They were all to dumbstruck at Littlefoot's speech to speak themselves.

"Incredible! That long-necked dinosaur just spoke!"

"I told you! Dinosaurs are much more sophisticated that we thought." The woman slowly approached Littlefoot, bent down and looked at him.

"What's your name?"

"L-Littlefoot…" he replied a little worried.

"Hello Littlefoot. I'm Lieutenant Jill Fielding. Nice to meet you." Littlefoot shied which, in turn, made Jason smile.

"Captain, It's true! He's genuinely speaking freely! He can understand me!" she said turning to the tall man in the centre.

"Alright lieutenant. Return to your position please," the captain said calmly. As she stood up to stand back where she was, the captain's radio suddenly crackled.

"Calling Captain David Hunter. Come in Captain Hunter." He reached for his radio strapped to his shoulder.

"Hunter here. What's the problem?"

"Captain, it's Westwood. We're still awaiting the uploading of the target. What's taking so long?"

"Minor set back. We're running a little late that originally stated. Currently conversing with target. Uploading will take place ASAP."

"Good. Preparations for the next phase of the expedition are complete. We can launch as scheduled."

"Excellent! I'm heading back now! Hunter out." The transmission ended and the captain replaced the radio back under his shoulder strap.

"Right. We've wasted enough time. Please accompany us to the base. Your friend will have to stay here."

"What! No way! I'm not going anywhere!" Jason shouted signalling for Littlefoot to back up a little.

"You are coming now! Sergeant Stone! Hostile recovery tactic sigma-twelve."

"Yes sir!" the man with the dog replied and moved around the outside of the circle.

"No!"

"Look…Jason is it? You got to come with us. It will be a lot easier if you just come along quietly," Lieutenant Fielding pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere! I've told you!" Jason argued. He then looked up at the captain whose sight was fixed on something past him.

"I'm not moving! And…just what are you looking at?" he followed the captain's gaze.

"Jason no!" he yelled a split second too late. Jason had already turned to see the sergeant pointing a rifle at him. In a panic, Jason ducked just as the sergeant fired. The entire field gasped as a small dart shot past his face, striking another man on a motorbike in the chest. The man collapsed, throwing the motorbike at Jason's feet.

            Standing up slowly, Jason looked around to see everyone on the ground. In a quick decision, Jason snatched at the bike, revved the engine before tearing away to escape into the surrounding thicket. The squadron opened fire in retaliation forcing everyone to in the area to flee in terror.

"Hold your fire! No casualties remember! Don't harm him. Professor needs him alive!" The captain yelled above the gunfire.

"After him!" Sergeant Stone ordered. Instantly, the remaining bikers took off after Jason.

"Ready Shock Rockets!" Captain Hunter barked as the sergeant released the Alsatian off its lead to give chase. The remaining soldiers pulled out a large rocket-launcher and loaded it.

"Shock Rockets ready! Target locked!" one man reported.

"FIRE!"

"Nnnnnoooooo!" Littlefoot cried as the rocket was fired. The rocket spun around the chasing men and struck Jason's bike. A massive electrical discharge crackled over the motor causing it to die instantaneously. The bike screeched to a halt, throwing Jason to the ground. With the bikers and the guard dog still giving chase, Jason quickly jumped up and dived into the thicket and out of sight.

The rest of the squadron followed leaving all the dinosaurs extremely shocked and confused.

"Jason!" Littlefoot called after the crowd.

"What going on? Me really confused," Petrie cawed in awe.

"What do those humans want with Jason?" Ali asked worryingly.

"C'mon! We've got to help him!" Littlefoot cried breaking into a run.

"Littlefoot no!" Grandpa Longneck shouted after him but he pretended he didn't hear as he entered the thicket. The rest of the gang followed him despite their parents pleading with them to come back.

            The thicket was eerily quiet as the gang searched the trees for Jason.

"Jason?…Jason? Where are you?" Littlefoot called.

"Ssshhhhh! Littlefoot! Do you WANT those humans to catch you?" Cera hissed telling him to keep his voice down.

"We have to find him! Otherwise those humans could do anything to him!" Littlefoot replied, his eyes wide and fearful.

"I do hope he is okay," Ducky sighed. The gang were suddenly stopped by a strange sound.

"What that noise?" Petrie croaked. The gang stood still and looked around. Suddenly, something dropped down from the trees behind them making them all jump. Ali squealed but someone cupped a hand over her mouth.

"Ssshhh! Quiet Ali! It's me."

"Jason!" Littlefoot cried but quickly silenced realising he was talking too loud again.

"You okay?" Petrie asked perching on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Those goons are gonna have to do better than that," Jason sniggered, "C'mon let's get out of…" He was stopped in mid speech and flinched. The gang looked up to see Jason thrust a hand up to his neck and tugged at something there. He, then, suddenly dropped to his knees and collapsed limply. The gang were horrified and stood staring at Jason's motionless body as he lay on the red and gold leaf-litter that carpeted the ground. Littlefoot gasped as two figures approached, picked Jason up and began to stroll out of the thicket.

"Captain! Confirmed that the target has been neutralised. Heading back to base now!" the free man reported into his radio.

"Good work! We are already heading back. Meet you back there. Hunter, over and out!"

            As the men walked out into the open, the man carrying Jason on his shoulder felt something snag on his dangling arm.

"Let him go!" Littlefoot ordered through clenched teeth that were hooked on Jason's sleeve.

"Get out of it brat!" the man barked trying to pull Littlefoot off.

"L-L…L-Lit…tle…foot…" Jason suddenly whispered in a sleepy voice. Littlefoot gasped.

"Jason?" Just as he released Jason in shock, the free man struck Littlefoot across the face with the butt of his rifle. Littlefoot winced at the force of the blow and fell to his knees. As the men strolled out of sight, the gang reformed around Littlefoot as he slowly stood up, his eyes watering.

"Littlefoot! Are you alright?" Ducky called hopping from Spike's back to Littlefoot's.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied shaking his head to rid himself of the daze.

"What did they do? Is Jason…?" Ali cried desperately.

"No. He's not dead. He spoke to me," Littlefoot replied.

"Maybe he's not dead yet but he could be…" Cera said mournfully.

"Cera! You no say such awful thing about Jason!" Petrie scowled.

"What! He could be…Hey! Spike! What are you doing?" she said almost tripping over Spike who had settled down rather comfortably behind her.

"Spike! This is no time for sleep!" Ducky scorned.

"Hey look," Ali said looking closely at Spike, "what's that thing?" Everyone bent down to look at the strange, clear, feathery object by Spike's chin. A thick, colourless liquid was seeping out the tip of the sharpened end.

"That thing look like buzzing stinger! But…it not alive?" Petrie exclaimed tapping the plastic cartridge with a finger cautiously.

"Yeah. That's the thing that was in Jason when those humans took him away," Littlefoot said. Something suddenly snapped that made him sigh a little relieved.

"Jason's not dead! He's just sleeping!" Littlefoot suddenly blurted.

"You mean that buzzing stinger thing just put him to sleep?" Ali asked feeling just as relieved.

"Yeah. Spike must have had some of that funny smelling water," Littlefoot said, "c'mon, we've got to do something about Jason."

"Like what?" Cera asked just as Spike woke up completely disorientated.

"We've got to get Jason back!"


	9. Part 7: Friendship's Chain

Chapter 31: History Repeating 

            Wandering back into the Green Meadow, Littlefoot and the rest of the gang found all the adult dinosaurs staring promisingly at them. Just from the looks on their faces, each one of them could tell they were all expecting them to have brought Jason back. One by one, they lowered their heads shamefully. The group slowly broke up and they all walked dolefully back to their parents. No one speaking a word. The entire meadow seemed to be hung in a degraded suspense like time was non-existent. Littlefoot strolled over to his grandparents whimpering as if he had a thorn in his foot. He felt he had had his very life stolen from him. He stared across the field and saw his friends being comforted by their parents. He could tell they were all feeling the same but the crushing thought that Jason has now been captured by potentially dangerous creatures seemed even more devastating for him. Grandpa and Grandma Longneck looked solemnly at each other. They could tell Littlefoot was obviously very upset but neither of them could think of anything to say to him as he rubbed his head against their ankles for comfort.

"Why did they take him away? They treated him like he was nothing! Nothing at all!" he whinged.

"Now, now Littlefoot. You must be strong. I'm sure those other humans will not do anything to harm him," Grandma Longneck said caringly, bring her head down to meet his.

"Jason was right. Humans are untrustworthy killers!"

"What! We saw them carrying Jason away but was he…?"

"N-no. I don't think Jason is dead. He's just sleeping."

"How do you know Littlefoot?" Grandpa Longneck asked now bowing his head too.

"He spoke to me as they were taking him away," Littlefoot sighed heavily. Despite the soothing tone of his grandparents' voices, they were completely lost in the occurrence of Jason's kidnapping. He wandered back into the centre of the meadow hoping that one of the others would come out to meet him. Sure enough, Ducky and Spike walked over in a similar heavy hearted fashion. Ducky tried to make eye contact with Littlefoot with a warm, brave smile. Littlefoot tried his best to make his smile just as convincing but he knew it wasn't sincere. Cera marched over proudly with the threehorn twins but she couldn't hold her posture for long once she looked at everyone else's glum expressions.

"Oh come on! What's with you guys? He's not even one of us and now he's with his own kind. Why all the sad faces?" she barked trying to create conversion.

"He may not be a one of us Cera, but he is still our friend," Littlefoot replied rather sternly just as Petrie arrived riding on top Ali.

"But those humans have him back now, why should we bother worrying about him anymore?"

"Those humans were not very nice to Jason, oh no, no, no. They hurt him and put him to sleep even though he did not want to go," Ducky protested sorrowfully.

"Yeah. Those humans really mean and nasty. Me sure no want to get in way of them," Petrie said.

"Well, my dad says that we should just leave the humans to get on with what they have to do so they will leave as quickly as possible and I think so too. They can just go back to wherever they came from so everything can get back to normal."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Littlefoot said gravely. The group fell silent and all eyes focused on Cera.

"No-ie no, no Grampee Threebe Cerie!" Dinah whined.

"Us-ie no-ie, no bye, bye Two-Legs," Dana added. Even without a translation from Ducky, the gang could tell that the two threehorn twins did not want Jason to go; and as it happened, neither did any of them.

"Oh who cares? Even if Jason didn't go with them, what can we do? Those humans are way too dangerous to speak to, and even if we did, I doubt they'd let Jason go. There's nothing we can do about it?" Littlefoot was about to reply but the words never reached his voice. He just sighed in defeat. In the back of his mind, he began to wonder what sort of torture the humans could be putting Jason through.

*

"Lemme outta here! Do you hear me? You can't do this! Get me out of this cage right now!" Jason screamed in anger.

"Shut it kid! Save your breath!" a private yelled at Jason as he rattled the iron bars of his cell.

"What do you guys want with me? What have I done to deserve this?" he pleaded.

"You'll find out in due course. Now pipe down before I put a bullet in your head!"

"You don't scare me! Your captain says you need me alive. Now let me go!" Jason shouted defiantly. The patrolling soldier ignored him and left the jail area, slamming the thick, blue door behind him. Jason sighed and collapsed on a small bed in the corner of his cell. The sheets were dirty as were the walls and floor that were caked in grime and obviously hadn't been cleaned for a while. Jason held his head in his hands trying to piece together what had happened between him being tranquillised in the thicket and him finding himself lying face down in a disgusting prison cell the next moment. His body ached as if he had just had to reanimate all his limbs having just woken up from a coma. A splitting headache erupted on one side of his brain which made him flinch in excruciating pain. As he reached up to hold his hurting head, he realised that part of his hair was missing from just above his temple. His arms also bore small, bloodstained holes as if needles had been poked into his skin. What had they done to him? Had they experimented on him whilst he was unconscious? If so, what had they injected into him, or alternatively, removed from him? His head burned again, forcing the thoughts to stop. Nothing seemed clear or made any sense. Just as the pain subsided for a brief moment, Jason heard the door leading into the cells click and watched it swing inwards. As he looked up, he saw the same three soldiers that he met in the Green Meadow accompanied by two other men. One was a short, thin, old-looking man with a crest of white, wiry hair encircling his bald head with his thin-rimmed, rectangle glasses perched on the end of his nose in front of probing grey eyes. He wore a large white lab coat that hung off his skinny shoulders and seemed much too big for him with the Red Phoenix Labs logo sewn onto the left breast pocket; he was clearly one of the scientists that worked for the corporation. Under the logo was a black badge that read: "Professor Xander Baxter". The man standing next to the old professor was a tall, burly man who looked in his early forties. His face was tight and pursed up in a businessmanly fashion. His eyes were a cold blue which seemed completely mismatched with his trimmed, black, oily hair that was parted in the centre and drooped down around the side of his head. Wearing a suit, shirt and a tie that also bore the corporation's logo, he seemed very intimidating as he loomed over Jason from the other side of the bars.

            Jason's eyes passed over from one face to another not knowing which one to trust. He shrunk back into the cell to distance himself.

"So. The sleeping child is finally awake," the businessman bellowed.

"My, my. It certainly has been a while hasn't it dear boy?" the professor said merrily glaring through the bars. He spoke with such a tone, almost as if he were speaking to Jason as a long lost friend.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay now. How do you feel?" Lieutenant Fielding asked.

"How do you think I feel? I've just be taken from the only thing I have left to call a family and a home by a bunch of muscle-brain morons and I find myself lying in a rotting jail cell. Yeah, I've had a great day! How was yours?" he replied sarcastically. The group chuckled all except for the businessman.

"So we meet again. Don't suppose you remember us do you?" the businessman asked gruffly. Jason strained his eyes to recognise the faces staring at him. The only one who seemed to jog something in his memory was the old man in the lab coat. Where had he heard the name "Xander Baxter" before?

"Didn't think he would," Captain Hunter said folding his arms.

"Hang on. Aren't you the ones I saw in the ruined labs back in 2113? The ones who opened fire on me as I tried to escape?"

"Heh heh. Got it in one!" Sergeant Stone laughed, "Nearly had ya too! Should just set Zephyr on you! Won't stand a chance once this hound gets running!" He patted his guard dog on the head as it sat obediently by his side. Lieutenant Fielding elbowed him sharply in the ribs making him flinch. Jason actually found this quite comical and sniggered behind a hand.

"I heard you put up quite an impressive resistance. Seems as though you've adapted fairly well to life out here," the businessman stated with a twisted, thin-lipped smile.

"Yeah, and? What's all that got to do with me being locked up in here like some serial killer?" Jason snapped back. He really didn't like the way the businessman spoke to him as if he were some sort of underling.

"We were very impressed that you managed to activate one of our failed projects back when we found you. The Chronos Doorway was a project that was unsuccessful due to an inability to generate sufficient energy to hold the door open long enough for somebody to physically pass through. You, on the other hand, managed to activate the doorway with some sort of energy that brought the machine to life. We owe you our thanks for our reopening of the Chronos Doorway project. We thought it would never get off the ground," Professor Baxter said gratefully.

"You're very welcome, but that's got nothing to do with why I'm here," Jason replied irritably, "maybe you can explain what all these holes and sore patches are on my skin."

"I'm sorry to report that we had to run a brief medical examination whilst the tranquilliser's chemicals were still effective. I assure you nothing has been done to you. After all, why would I possibly want to harm the son of one of my best colleagues? You've grown an awful lot since I last saw you as a lad," the old man said, peering down at Jason over his rectangular lenses.

"What! You…you knew my…" Jason asked now paying full attention. The professor just nodded.

"Yes. Your mother was one of our best employees in our energetics department. Professor Baxter here alongside your mother and various others helped to create revolutionary products that changed the world's views on how energy can be manipulated and used," the businessman said proudly.

"I thought I recognised your name. You're the man mum always used to talk about. You're the one who gave me that medical kit when I was a kid," Jason said flabbergasted. Memories of his early childhood flooded back when he used to sit in the labs with the professor and his mother whilst they worked.

"Your mother and I were working on a massive project. It was going to change the world," Professor Baxter continued with a smile.

"…The perpetual energy source…that's the last major project she worked on right?" Jason asked in awe. The professor nodded.

"But I thought she said the project was scrapped."

"It was, but we have reason to believe that perpetual energy is still available. We reopened the project about a year and a half ago and we came so close to completing it. We just need a few more mysteries to untangle before we can make a logical hypothesis on actually harnessing the free energy that is supposedly able to last forever." Jason's thoughts referred back to his mother and all she said about the project; all up to her dying day. Something emotional flushed over him and he slowly reached up to clasp his pendent.

"Hey! My pendent! Where's it gone?" Jason shouted in shock after finding it missing from around his neck.

"It's in the observatory labs. We had to take it off you in order to look over you properly. It caused quite a tremendous interference with our electrical equipment. Once we removed it from you, all the equipment worked fine. Metal objects have a tendency to cause resonance that affects their circuitry," Lieutenant Fielding said calmly as she saw the distressing look on Jason's face as he tried to find it in his cell.

"Give it back! I need that!"

"I'm afraid not. We've got things we need to discuss," the businessman said sternly, completely undisturbed by Jason's desperate search.

"Discuss? What's there to discuss? Let me outta here! I got to get back to Littlefoot and the others! They'll be worried sick about me! Lemme go!"

"Sorry kid. You're staying right were you are. We'll interrogate you tomorrow," Captain Hunter stated.

"What! No! You can't keep me here! Let me out!" Jason panicked, thrashing at the bars.

"SILENCE!" the businessman erupted, bashing the cage. Jason fell backwards and landed heavily on one side.

"You are to remain here. We will deal with you tomorrow." With a sweeping turn, the businessman pursed his thin lips in anger and stormed out. One by one, the rest of the people marched out of the jail, leaving Jason powerless on the grimy, concrete floor. The last to leave was the lieutenant who looked down on Jason sorrowfully. He looked back up at her for an understanding.

"Please! Help me! I have to get out of here! Littlefoot will be so worried; so will my grandparents. Please let me out! I've done nothing wrong!" Jason begged.

"I'm sorry Jason, I can't let you go. But the quicker you co-operate with what Mr. Westwood has got to ask, the sooner you can get out," she said slowly.

"You mean that guys with the oil slick haircut and the monkey suit? He'd spoke like I'm some sort of guinea pig. You can help but I have to get out now Miss.! Please!"

"Call me Jill," she insisted.

"Okay, Jill. Can't you reason with them? I have to get back to them."

"I'm sorry Jason. There's nothing I can do, but tell me something. Your friends, Littlefoot and the others. They speak don't they? How did you make contacts with them in the first place? How is it they talk?"

"I dunno. They're not just brainless wanderers as we seem to think. They are intelligent creatures that have true feelings and emotions. Now please. Can't you let me out? Please." Jill headed for the door, despite Jason's pleases to release him. 

"I suggest you get some rest. You'll feel better after a night's sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." She said taking one last glance at him before shutting the door behind her.

            Jason collapsed on the bed exhausted. So much had happened so quickly that his headache had returned. Despite his interaction with more members of the corporation, nothing seemed any clearer. Thoughts of Littlefoot and the others crept into his mind, making the pain more intense. He felt like a criminal locked up in an animal's cage with only a small, barred window in the wall to light the dark, dank, concrete room. The rays of light were slowly fading as night approached. The horizon glowed a warm orange as the sun gradually disappeared behind the Smoking Mountain. Jason sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"Oh Littlefoot. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I brought all this mess to you and the Valley. Please forgive me."

Chapter 32: A Guiding Light 

            Nightfall had descended on the Great Valley and its inhabitants were all still very much disturbed by the humans' invasion earlier on in the day. Everyone had broken up for the night but they were all on full alert in fear that the humans may plan something whilst they all slept. Parents tucked their children (some still unborn) closer to them for extra protection. As for the gang, Petrie's mother had instructed him and his siblings to all sleep at the back of their cave, Ducky and her brothers and sisters slept sandwiched between their mother and Spike. Cera and the threehorn twins had moved to a new nesting ground on orders from Mr. Threehorn who stood guard over them, Ali and her herd had initially thought to leave the Valley but Grandpa Longneck reassured them that despite the humans being present, their home was still safe, so, they decided to stay.

            Littlefoot felt completely lost as he and his grandparents headed for home. Walking between the two of them, Littlefoot replayed the happenings of the day over and over in his mind. He remembered how Jason fought with the other human in black as he threatened to shoot him and how he argued with those three, important looking humans. Finally, he remembered how the humans put him to sleep before taking him away. He tried to stop them but that other human struck him across the face with his gun. Littlefoot felt his jaw ache slightly as the thought of being hit sprung to mind. Grandpa and Grandma Longneck looked down on Littlefoot as he walked with his head hanging low. They felt at a loss too but they could tell Littlefoot was feeling it a lot stronger than anyone else. Ever since that day Jason saved Littlefoot's life when he almost drowned, they had seen him as an adopted grandson and looking at Littlefoot now, they felt even worse but no words of comfort could come to mind.

            Once they reached home, Grandma Longneck nudged Littlefoot into his sleeping pit. Littlefoot wanted to resist but he didn't want to seem rude. He settled down and sighed. He looked over at Jason's tree he would have slept in for the night, but the fact remained; Jason would not be there this time.

"Grandma. I can't sleep. It doesn't feel right without Jason here," he sighed again.

"I know it won't be the same without Jason here Littlefoot but there is nothing we can do," she replied calmingly.

"I'm afraid Grandma is right Littlefoot. We feel at a loss without Jason here too but those humans seem too ruthless to talk to. Perhaps Jason will return tomorrow morning once they have finished with whatever it is they have to discuss," Grandpa Longneck said softly.

"But they were so mean Grandpa. They hurt Jason and put him to sleep even though he didn't want to go with them. What kind of creature harms one of its own just because it doesn't want to do something?" Littlefoot protested. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck both fell silent. Littlefoot rolled over on to his back and stared up at the starry night sky.

"Jason told me so much about everything. He used to tell me about the stars and their stories. He shared so much with me and taught me more than I can remember …and now…he's gone…" he sighed.

"Now Littlefoot. You speak as if Jason is far, far away. Don't forget he is still here with us," Grandma Longneck quickly reminded him in a soothing voice.

"I know Grandma, but it's just that…I miss him already…"

"We understand Littlefoot. We miss him too but it would be better if we don't interfere with the affairs of the humans, just in case anything misfortunate should happen," Grandpa Longneck said. He gently rubbed Littlefoot as he rolled back over onto his front.

"You should try and get some rest. We'll worry about all this in the morning."

"Okay Grandpa. I'll try." With a final head rub from his grandparents, Littlefoot wished them goodnight before folding himself up to try and get to sleep. It was very hard for Littlefoot to try to sleep with his mind constantly whirring and buzzing with thoughts of Jason. Eventually, the thoughts subsided and Littlefoot managed to drift off.

            Suddenly, Littlefoot woke up with a start. He stood up and looked around him. He was standing in the middle of a misty plain. The ground was rocky and hard, and the air was biting with a cold breeze. The mist circled around his ankles as he searched for something in endless fog. The sky was a dirty, clay brown as if he were standing in the centre of a whirlwind and the dust from the ground had carpeted the skyline. Littlefoot looked desperately for someone to tell him where he was but the bare and baron land didn't look hospitable for any means of life.

            Then, from out of the mist, a figure appeared. Littlefoot jumped in shock as its thundering footsteps shook the earth from behind him. The mists swirled up and engulfed the figure, concealing its identity as it towered high over him. Littlefoot gazed up at the tremendous figure in awe. Its body composition looked like a longneck but with only the silhouette showing from the cloudy fog, Littlefoot couldn't make out anything distinguishable. Once the figure's form had finished, it spoke out to Littlefoot in a very uncharacteristically soft and loving, feminine tone.

"Hello Littlefoot." Littlefoot was stunned.

"H-hello?" he stammered.

"No need to be afraid. Speak up, tell me what's on your mind."

"W-who are you?"

"You already know the answer to that question my dear."

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to soothe your worries. Tell me what's troubling you."

"My…um…my friend was…taken from me today…by…"

"Humans. They came for your friend. He is a human as well is he not?"

"Ye…Yes! How did you know?"

"I've been watching. You care about him? Even though he is not one of your kind?"

"Huh? Well…yes, of course I do. He is my friend no matter what he looks like on the outside." The figure fell silent. It made a sound as if to snigger and offer a smile.

"What…what is it?" Littlefoot asked cautiously, unsure of how the figure was going to react.

"You Littlefoot. You have grown so much. Not just physically in size but mentally too. Not only that, another part of you has grown even more bigger than any other part of you," the figure said sweetly.

"What's that?" Littlefoot asked curiously. Strangely enough, the figure's voice was becoming more and more recognisable the more it spoke.

"Your heart. You care for such a creature that is so out of place. You befriended him and accepted him as one of your own; as an equal. With such passion and care in your heart, it makes me proud. Proud to be able to keep watching over you. Proud to call you my own."

"Wha…huh? What do you mean by that?" Littlefoot stuttered partly in confusion, but also in shock.

"I'm glad you are who you are Littlefoot. Don't ever change. And as for your friend, you know what you must to do. Follow that instinct and let it lead you to your friend."

"But how? Those humans are dangerous, they could harm me as well," Littlefoot protested. Just as he finished speaking, the winds picked up and began to blow strongly. The mist was swept up from behind him and it encircled the figure, making the silhouette fainter and fainter. The wind howled deafeningly as the figure faded.

"WAIT, DON'T GO! TELL ME HOW? WHAT SHOULD I DO? PLEASE TELL ME!" Littlefoot yelled above the roaring wind.

"Let your heart guide you Littlefoot. It will tell you which way to go. It whispers…so listen closely…" the figure said finally as the mist spiralled upwards and the silhouette disappeared. Littlefoot gasped in shock.

"Mother?!"

            Everything began to spin, which forced Littlefoot to jump out of his sleep. He looked around from his place on the cool grass. He was back in the Great Valley with his grandparents asleep nearby. Everything had been a dream. Littlefoot sighed and looked up at the sky as he stood up. He shut his eyes and thought he heard something. That triggered something in his mind and he snapped his eyes open again in response. He had made his decision.

"I'm going to get Jason back! Tonight!" he whispered to himself determined. He glanced over at his grandparents who remained asleep.

"I'll bring him back Grandma and Grandpa. I promise." With that, Littlefoot took off for the Forest of Fear. As far as he was concerned, Jason was returning to him no matter what the cost.

Chapter 33: Tactical Espionage Dino Action 

            The moonlit fields and pastures all looked ghostly and forsaken as Littlefoot tore across them at full speed. All the migrating herds that normally spent their days resting in these lush, green plains had taken to the shelter of the trees to hide themselves from possible human encounter. Silvery streaks of moonlight shimmered over rivers that he past as the nocturnal life chirped and echoed from every direction. Upon finally reaching the Grazing Pasture, Littlefoot slowed down to a walk to let his body recover from his run from home. Nothing seemed normal with all fields abandoned and the Forest of Fear that lay on the opposite side of the pasture looked even more eerie at night than it did during the day. Littlefoot halted on the forest's border. He had fully recovered from his little jog but something inside was buzzing with such excitement, which made his heart thump anxiously on his ribs. As he stood there gazing into the dark woods, Littlefoot kept reminding himself of his determination to save Jason and the dream he had just had a little while back. With a final, deep breath, Littlefoot stepped into the forest.

            Littlefoot found himself struggling to find the right way through the skinny trees. It was very difficult to see a few feet in front of him in the dark which was generally bad enough during the day. It wasn't long before Littlefoot noticed a path of fallen trees that the humans had obviously cut down with their Laser Blades. He decided to follow the trail of destruction as he felt this would be his best chance of finding the base where they were keeping Jason. Sure enough, after a little while of following the fallen trees, Littlefoot found climbed through a small bush and found the base sitting in the middle of its man-made clearing. Littlefoot sat poised in hiding since the last thing he wanted to do was to draw attention to himself. The electric fence that surrounded the compound was very close by but Littlefoot couldn't hear the faint buzzing that he could the first time he and the others arrived here. He was about to move forwards when he saw something move. Shrinking back down into the shrub, Littlefoot saw a man sitting on a wooden box by the front entrance. He looked half asleep but Littlefoot didn't want to approach him.

            Taking a wide circle around the back of the base, Littlefoot began calling Jason's name softly to get a response.

"Jason…? Jason? Where are you?" He suddenly froze still after hearing something shuffle from inside the base by a small window.

"Jason?" Littlefoot asked quietly.

"Huh? Li-Littlefoot?" a tired voice replied. Littlefoot came out of hiding and moved towards the small barred window.

"Jason, I'm here."

"My God! Littlefoot! What are you…!" Jason exclaimed.

"Shhhhh! Quiet!" Littlefoot hissed as he popped his head up into view. Jason pulled himself up to the windowsill and gazed at Littlefoot through the metal grill of the fence.

"Littlefoot! What are you doing here? Are you crazy!" Jason said shocked yet pleased to see him.

"I came to rescue you," Littlefoot said beaming.

"No Littlefoot! You've got to get out of here! If you're seen, you'll be killed!" Jason said urgently.

"No! I'm came here to get you Jason and I'm not leaving until you're out of there. You don't belong in there, you should be with us." Jason smiled at Littlefoot's noble words. He then flinched at a loud grunting noise from behind him.

"What's that?" Littlefoot asked. Jason turned and saw a guard sound asleep across the way from his cell in a chair. His feet were perched up on the table and he was snoring.

"It's a guard in here but he's in the land of nod, don't worry. Listen Littlefoot. You got to be careful. Security around here isn't massive but if you're discovered, you'll be in big trouble. You've got to sneak into the base. You don't have to worry about the electric fence since there was a power failure earlier and the fence has been disabled."

"But how do I get past it?"

"Hey! There's a hole around the back somewhere. I overheard one of the guards talking about it. Apparently some dinosaur slashed the wire netting so you could probably get through. From there, you'll have to find a way in."

"There is a human at the front. Should I try and get past him?"

"No. That's too risky. See if you can squeeze through one of these small windows. There should be others around the back end somewhere. If you can get in, you've got to look for a blue door not too far from where you get in, okay?"

"Alright," Littlefoot nodded just about to set off.

"Littlefoot," Jason called out to him as he took his first step.

"Yeah Jason?"

"…Be careful, okay?"

"I will. Just hang on until I get to you alright?" Littlefoot smiled warmly. Jason, having gotten used to that gesture, automatically smiled back. As Littlefoot disappeared from sight, Jason lowered himself down from the windowsill and sat on his bed. He silently thanked Littlefoot for coming for him but he wrung his hands nervously.

"Good luck Littlefoot."

            Following Jason's advice, Littlefoot tiptoed around to the rear of the base. Just as he had described, the wire mesh had been slashed by what looked like a claw of a sharptooth. He carefully, pushed his way through the tight gap and looked around at the stone wall for an opening. Luckily, Littlefoot spied a small window a little further down from the hole in the fence. As quietly as he could, he crept up to the rectangular hole and peered in. The room was too dark to make anything out but there did not appear to be anything alive inside. At the far end of the room, light was seeping in from within the base. With a little leap, Littlefoot pulled himself up to the window. It was quite a struggle for him to squeeze his body through the window. His top half was in but his hips and tail were stuck outside. Littlefoot put his front feet on the window ledge and pushed as hard as he could. He could feel his hind legs giving a little as he heaved to free himself. With one last, almighty push, Littlefoot felt his hind legs slip through window but his forward momentum carried him a little further than he had liked. As his back half came through, Littlefoot was sent sprawling to the floor and crashed noisily into the wall.

            Picking himself up from the ground, Littlefoot found himself with a new obstacle. Light was being emitted from around a strange, flat surface. It was different to the cold, stone wall but it had a strange, shiny object sticking out of it. Littlefoot then remember the story that Jason told him about the woman and the zombies. It was a door but how did Jason say it worked? He was sure it had something to do with the cold, shiny object but he couldn't remember what it did. Littlefoot began poking and prodding the object in as many ways as he could think of, but none of them opened it. Then, something jumped to mind. Littlefoot took the metal bar in his mouth and he pulled it downwards. With a click, the door opened inwards and revealed a maze of marbled corridors all leading in different directions. Cautiously, Littlefoot stepped out into the corridor. The ground was unnaturally cold and his footsteps clapped audibly on its smooth surface. Now, all he had to do was to look for the blue door which Jason was on the other side of.

            Meanwhile, Jason began pacing up and down in his cell anxiously. Littlefoot had taken a lot longer than he had first anticipated. All sorts of conclusions sprung to mind. Perhaps Littlefoot had been captured and they where experimenting on him like a plaything or worse, they could have killed him on the spot. His nerves were raw as he kept looking at the heavy, blue door expecting Littlefoot to come through any second, but every time he looked up at the door, it didn't budge. Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the door. Jason jumped and whirred around. The handle creaked and lowered slowly. Jason quickly hopped back into his dirty bed and pretended to sleep with his head under the covers. He heard the door's rusty hinges groan as the door opened as a figure stepped into the room with a distinct footfall. Jason pulled the bed sheets from over his head and found himself face to face with a beaming Littlefoot.

"Littlefoot! You made it!" Jason cried silently.

"Jason, what is this place?" Littlefoot whispered looking in disgust at the jail cell Jason was locked up in.

"Don't worry about it. What matters is that I'm not going to be in here for much longer."

"How are you going to get out?"

"Littlefoot. You see that guy over there?" Jason asked pointing to the snoring guard.

"Yeah. Wow, he makes louder sleep-grumbles than Spike!" Littlefoot giggled.

"Tell me about it! Anyway, see those silvery things on the table. They're the keys for the cell. Pass me those and I can bust outta here!"

"Okay."

"Wait, be careful. Don't let them jingle or that guard will wake up. Make sure you grab them all together."

"Alright," Littlefoot acknowledged as he tiptoed over to the table. As he approached, the man grunted and shuffled. He froze as he moved but he merely fidgeted and remained asleep. Breathing a sigh of relieve, Littlefoot edged towards the keys on the table as Jason watched restlessly through the bars. Lowering his head down to the table, Littlefoot picked the keys up the small ring with his teeth trying hard not to make them rattle. Turning around slowly, he started back to Jason's cell. Unaware, Littlefoot's tail hit the leg of the table and the man in the chair grunted again. Instinctively, Littlefoot gasped in shock and opened his mouth, releasing the keys.

"Littlefoot!" Jason squealed as urgently, yet as quietly, as he could. In response, Littlefoot snatched at the keys as they fell and caught them in his mouth. Sighing relieved, Jason held out his hand as Littlefoot approached. Littlefoot then opened his mouth and spat the keys into his hand. Jason cringed slightly and Littlefoot yapped at the foul taste the metal had left in his mouth.

            Flicking through the wet bunch of keys, Jason eventually found the right one and the cell door swung open. Closing the door behind him and placing keys back on the table, Jason turned to Littlefoot and hugged him around his neck. Littlefoot, a little shocked at first, hugged him back.

"Thank you Littlefoot. I knew you'd never let me rot in here. You really are a true friend."

"Friends forever remember?" Littlefoot said smiling.

"Yeah. Friends forever. Now come on, let's get outta here!"

            Opening the large blue door, Jason looked left and right down the corridors for possible signs of life. With the coast clear, Jason and Littlefoot began walking silently down the corridors.

"What is this place Jason?" Littlefoot whispered as they past a number of medical laboratories.

"This is what Red Phoenix Labs are famous for. Medical break-throughs and enhancements in all fields of science. They are…" Jason broke off suddenly.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked bumping into Jason as he stopped suddenly.

"Someone's coming! Quick! In here," Jason ordered as he shoved Littlefoot into a side room. In the dark room, Littlefoot and Jason listened as the clapping of footsteps approached and past them. Looking around, Jason saw another small window.

"Littlefoot. Up here," he signalled. With a quick glance to make sure all was clear, Jason pulled himself through the small gap and out of the complex. He, then, quickly waved to Littlefoot to come through. Littlefoot hopped up to the window and pulled himself through but suddenly felt his hind legs stop his from pulling himself through. He looked back to see himself wedged in the small space again.

"Uh oh! Jason! I'm stuck!" Littlefoot gasped as he wriggled his legs trying to squeeze through.

"Oh no! Here, take my hand. I'll pull you out," Jason said thrusting hand out to Littlefoot. Taking hold of his forelegs, Jason began to tug at Littlefoot as he tried to push himself out. Groaning and struggling, Jason dug his heels deeper into the ground for extra traction. Littlefoot felt his hips inching outwards. With one last tug, Littlefoot popped out from the hole, sending him and Jason crashing into the fence, which rattled noisily. Getting up quickly, Jason and Littlefoot hurried to the rear of the base where Littlefoot said the hole in the fence was. Upon reaching it, Jason crawled through and Littlefoot followed. Unfortunately for Littlefoot, he stood up a little too soon and the sharpened end of the metal wire scratched him down his back. Littlefoot yelped in pain but Jason threw his hand over his mouth before he yelled any louder. Littlefoot gave his head a shake to get Jason to remove his hand and nodded to tell him he was alright. Without another word, they both slipped into the forest, completely undetected.

            After a short jog, following the fallen trees, Littlefoot and Jason found their way out of the Forest of Fear and started across the Grazing Pasture.

"Oh Littlefoot. You're a star! I can't believe you actually came for me!"

"I couldn't just give up on you like that Jason. You have helped us dinosaurs out so much and you're such a good friend, I had to come for you."

"Thanks Littlefoot. It's so good to know I can count on someone else for a change rather than having to watch my own back every second of the day. I'm so glad you came."

"It's no problem," Littlefoot replied but he suddenly hissed in pain.

"Oh your back! Are you okay?" Jason asked as Littlefoot fell to his knees.

"I scratched it on the sharp, shiny border thing," Littlefoot said as he looked at the bloody score down his back.

"Ooooo. That looks painful. When we get back home, I'll patch that wound up for you. C'mon, let's get back. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a decent bed besides that mouldy cloth back in that cell," Jason smiled and through his pain, Littlefoot smiled back.

            Once they reached home, Littlefoot collapsed into his pit and Jason dove into his bag to retrieve his medical kit. Taking a small bottle and some cotton wool, he approached Littlefoot.

"Oh! Don't lick it Littlefoot! You'll make it worse!" Jason warned as he found Littlefoot trying to ease his own pain.

"It really hurts Jason," Littlefoot winced.

"I know. This will help keep it clean. I must warn you, this will sting a little but only for a second." Jason softly stroked the wound with the cotton wool making Littlefoot flinch awkwardly.

"Okay. All done. Just need to bandage it so it doesn't get infected," Jason said pulling a roll of bandages from his first aid box. After Jason wrapped up his wound, Littlefoot smiled at Jason.

"Thanks Jason. It feels a lot better now."

"Good. Just don't bite the bandages if they itch or they'll fall off," Jason replied as he put the medical kit back in his bag. As he zipped up his bag, Jason looked over at his dozing grandparents. He felt so happy to see them again.

"Man, it's so good to be back."

"It's good to have you back Jason. I'll sleep so much better knowing you're here too."

"Yeah, me too. I wonder how those jerks back at that complex are gonna react when they find out that their top secret base was infiltrated by a dinosaur in the dead of the night. That Mr. Westwood guy definitely won't be pleased," Jason sniggered as he clambered into his tree.

"Goodnight Littlefoot. See you in the morning," he yawned.

"Goodnight Jason," Littlefoot replied before yawning himself. Before long, both of them curled up and were fast asleep.

Chapter 34: A Short Lived Reunion 

            The first rays of the morning light pierced the darkness of the night as dawn approached. The flaming red sun began to peer over the Smoking Mountain and gave a radiant shine to the fertile fields of the Great Valley. Captain Hunter, Sergeant Stone and Lieutenant Fielding were discussing the mission plan and the upcoming interrogation with Jason.

"Right. At 0800 hours, we start asking the kid questions. He'll have to give us answers so we can report back to the professor and Westwood as soon as possible," Hunter stated.

"What if he's unco-operative?" Stone asked stroking Zephyr as he lay at his feet.

"We'll make him talk. I don't want to have to use force but Westwood said to use any means necessary without causing too much physical damage," Hunter said blandly.

"What's Westwood want with Jason so much anyway?" Fielding yawned.

"You okay Jill? You look terrible. Mind you what's new?" Stone sniggered.

"Shut it Daniel!" she retorted punching him in the side, "I didn't sleep too well last night. Had some sort of weird dream."

"What about?" Hunter asked curiously.

"I can't remember all of it. It had something to do with Jason and that other long-necked dinosaur kid that was with him; Littlefoot's his name I think. There was something strange about them. They each had a glowing light on them. Jason's was red and it shone over his chest and Littlefoot's was blue and it shimmered in his eyes like tears. It was…oh what does it matter…it's not important…"

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Stone asked concerned.

"It's no big deal. I go see the professor later. Shall I go get Jason now Captain?"

"Yes. We may as well start now." Jill gave a quick dismissive salute and walked to the jail cell. As she reached the prison door, she stopped to think about her dream. It didn't make any sense to her but she felt it could have possibly meant something. She then pulled off her right glove and looked at the small, emerald ring on her finger. During the dream, she could have sworn she felt a burning sensation coming from her ring. Shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she opened the heavy, blue door to retrieve Jason.

            Meanwhile, back in the operations room, Hunter and Stone were discussing their plans for examining the land for a possible extraction point for which they could possibly use for the Chronos Doorway so they could return home.

"What about this section Captain? We haven't looked here yet."

"Nah. Too much harmonic resonance a few yards before that area. Professor Baxter says that will be a waste of power to set it up there." Just as they started writing out plans, the businessman and the professor walked in.

"Good morning Xander, Dominic," Hunter nodded to each of them in turn.

"David," Westwood replied straightening his tie.

"How are the plans going Sergeant?" Professor Baxter asked looming over the virtual images of the Great Valley and its surrounding areas.

"Fine. We've established a…"

"Captain Hunter! We've got a problem!" Jill cried bursting into the room.

"What is it?" he replied.

"Jason's gone!"

"What! That's not possible!" Westwood barked.

"Either that or he's invisible, the cell's empty!"

"Initiate a search! Scan the entire complex! Get every man on him now!" Hunter shouted urgently. Both Jill and Sergeant Stone barged open the operations room door to raise the alarm. Forming their parties, the Red Phoenix Squadron searched high and low, looking in every crevice for Jason completely unaware that he was nowhere near their base.

            Meanwhile, Jason and Littlefoot were just waking up. The early morning sun warmed them gently making them stir.

"Morning Littlefoot," Jason said with a big yawn.

"Good morning Jason. Sleep well?" Littlefoot replied sleepily.

"Oh yeah. Better than I would have in that scummy prison cell that's for sure," Jason said with a smile. Just as Littlefoot stretched and stood up and Jason slid down from his tree (his knees clicking rather audibly on impact with the ground), they turned to see Grandma and Grandpa Longneck starting to shuffle. They both snapped quick glances at each other wondering how they would react when they saw Jason standing in front of them. Before they got a chance to say anything, Grandpa Longneck opened his eyes.

"Oh! Jason?" he said in surprise making Littlefoot and Jason jump.

"Jason? Is that you?" Grandma Longneck asked softly.

"Yes Grandma, Grandpa. It's me." The two mighty brontosauruses stood up and gasped in shock.

"Oh Jason, you've returned safely!" Grandma Longneck said gratefully as she lowered her head to greet him. Jason hugged her nose in response so pleased to see them again.

"How did you escape the humans?" Grandpa Longneck asked intrigued after Jason gave him a hug also. Breaking away, Jason looked at Littlefoot who replied to it a similar blank gaze back. Picking up on this, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck both gave a piercing stare which Littlefoot knew all too well.

"Jason? Just how did you escape last night, if it was last night that is," Grandma Longneck asked probingly.

"Littlefoot? Did you have anything to do with this? And don't you con me," Grandpa Longneck said in a tone that was inviting yet dangerous. Jason and Littlefoot took one last look at each other and sighed before spelling out the whole thing. During in the speech, Grandma Longneck noticed the slightly bloody bandage that was stuck along Littlefoot's spine.

"Well, I'm not very impressed that you took such a dangerous risk Littlefoot. You could have been injured far worse than just that scratch on your back," Grandpa Longneck said scornfully.

"I know Grandpa, but I had to do something," he replied.

"But that is what we are glad about Littlefoot is that you actually did do something," Grandma Longneck said sweetly, "Jason. We are so glad to see you again. When Littlefoot said you had been captured we feared the worst."

"Believe me Grandma, it's great to be back. I couldn't have survived with them…not without you guys," Jason said pulling Littlefoot closer. They all smiled.

"Hey, how about a swim Jason? We could play for a while before we go to the fields," Littlefoot suggested tugging his head from out of Jason's headlock.

"Okay," Jason said grabbing his bag and throwing it on one shoulder, "I'll race you to the Thundering Falls."

"Okay, you're on!" Littlefoot said accepting his challenge.

"Ready…" Jason said eyeing him.

"…Set…" Littlefoot continued smirking.

"…GO!" Grandma and Grandpa Longneck yelled out of sync. Jason looked up in surprise but Littlefoot had taken off in an instant.

"Hey! Littlefoot! Wait up!" Jason called sprinting after him. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck laughed as they watched the two of them charge off into the distance.

*

"Captain, he's nowhere to be seen. The kid's disappeared we've searched every square-inch of the base and there's no sign of him," a private reported.

"Damn it! Where the hell is that kid?" Hunter cursed throwing his radio on the floor in anger.

"How could he just vanish like that?" Stone asked dumbfounded.

"Perhaps someone let him out?" a private standing in the room suggested.

"Who would let the kid out?" Hunter barked.

"The professor maybe? He knew the kid's mother," Stone said.

"No sir, the professor was tending to Charles, the guy who got tranquillised. Apparently the chemicals generated some sort of allergic reaction and now he's in the hospital wing," the private reported.

"So who then?" Stone continued. Just then, Jill walked into the room and all eyes fixed onto her.

"No sign Captain. We've looked…what? What're you all gawking at me for?"

"Lieutenant Fielding, did you release Jason last night?" Stone asked staring her straight in the eye.

"No! Get out of my face Daniel," she snapped batting the sergeant out of the way.

"You seemed pretty attached to the boy Jill. Are you sure you didn't do anything regrettable last night?" Hunter asked slowly.

"What? N-no! I was back in my dormitory. Why are you suddenly picking on me? I didn't let the kid out. Besides, the professor found Jason's prints on the cell keys so somehow he managed to get the keys himself."

"It's true," a voice said entering the room.

"Professor. What did you find out?" Hunter asked desperately.

"Jason's fingerprints are definitely on the keys. They match the prints I took from him when I first examined him. But…that's not all I found from the keys," Professor Baxter said stepping further into the room.

"What else did you find?" Jill asked.

"Some sort of dried, digestive fluid on them. The sample contained enzymes that specialise in the break down of cellulose and parenchyma tissue of a specific…

"What's all that techno-babble mean for those of us that don't speak scientifically?" Hunter said dumbly.

"What it means Captain is…I believe it is saliva but the DNA testing did not match anyone in this facility."

"Saliva? Who would dribble all over the keys?" Stone asked perplexed. He then glanced down at Zephyr who whimpered and lowered his head.

"Don't worry Sergeant. Your dog is on the records too and it's not him. To be honest, the DNA had the wrong number of chromosomes for a dog or a human. What it was, it was not of our world."

"What do you mean by that?" Hunter said blandly. Jill then gasped in shock.

"Littlefoot…" she said thunderstruck.

"That brontosaurus?" Stone blurted out stunned, "How the hell can a dinosaur get into the complex, snatch the kid and leg it off into the night?"

"I think that our young lieutenant maybe be correct. The DNA did not match any recorded species that existed in our time so that would be the only other explanation. Also, Jason did have a very close bond with that young dinosaur; definitely a quality of his mother having a bond like that. Perhaps such a strong bond that it drove his dinosaur friend to rescue him," the professor said analytically. Hunter bent down and picked up his radio and began calling for his men to get ready.

"Hunter? What are you doing?" Professor Baxter asked sternly.

"We've gotta get him back. Fielding, Stone. Suit up. We're going back out there!"

*

            Jason and Littlefoot, in the meantime, had just reached the Thundering Falls. Jason, whilst still running, threw his bag to one side, ripped off his t-shirt, kicked off his trainers and leapt into the lukewarm pool. Littlefoot followed, jumping in with an almighty splash that threw water everywhere. Laughing and playing, Littlefoot and Jason splashed around under the waterfall. They had completely forgotten about the Red Phoenix Group and continued regardless. Once they had messed around for a while, Jason climbed out of the pool and wiped his face on his t-shirt. Littlefoot followed and shook the water off him getting Jason with the shrapnel.

"Oh Littlefoot. I forgot to take off your bandage. It's soaking wet," Jason said looking at the dirty, white bandage on Littlefoot's back. It was disintegrating.

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore," he replied peeling it off. As he threw it to Jason, Littlefoot looked up at Jason as noticed something unusual about him.

"Hey Jason. You're missing something," he said.

"Huh? What?" Jason replied confused.

"You're red stone. Where's that gold vine you normally have around your neck?"

"Oh, my mother's pendent! I left it back in the base!" Jason exclaimed in shock, "I have to get it back!"

"What? You're not going back there are you?"

"I don't think I'm going to have to take myself there Littlefoot. My guess is that they've probably realised that I've escaped by now. They'll be searching for me right now."

"What are we gonna do? You're not going to go with them are you?"

"No way! There's nothing in the world that can make me go back there under my own free will." Jason pulled his t-shirt on and threw the bandage into the water.

"It's biodegradable. It will dissolve into the water harmlessly. Now come on, let's go give Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali a little shock shall we?" Jason said winking. Littlefoot giggled and followed him out of the clearing to find the rest of the gang.

            It didn't take Littlefoot and Jason long to find their friends (after a quick detour home for Jason to put his bag back). They were all sitting in amongst the Tall Trees looking extremely glum and depressed. Wandering around with their head low were Dinah and Dana and just by looking at them, Jason and Littlefoot could tell they were not their normal, bouncy, hyperactive selves. Even Spike was sat in shade of the gigantic trees and refused to eat a single bite of the wavering bush that was tapping him from behind. Littlefoot and Jason looked at each other utterly surprised.

"Gosh…I've never seen them like this before…" Littlefoot whispered slowly.

"They look so downcast…it's painful just looking at them…" Jason replied solemnly.

"Oh! It's no use…we've hunted up and down for Littlefoot for more than an hour. Where could he be?" Cera whined kicking a loose stone so hard it made her toes throb.

"And poor, poor Jason. We have not heard anything about him at all. Do you think he is okay?" Ducky said sorrowfully.

"You think the humans grab Littlefoot and do nasty things to him like they do to Jason?" Petrie then asked nervously.

"I hope not, but we already searched the Forest of Fear and we still couldn't find Littlefoot," Ali said gravely, "he did say that he wanted to get Jason back but I couldn't see how he was going to do it."

"I can't believe we actually went into that weird and creepy forest in the first place but if it wasn't that Littlefoot may of went in there…I wouldn't have gone back there to look for him," Cera said angrily yet nobly. Jason looked at Littlefoot in shock. 

"_Wow! I've never really realised how much these guys care about each other. They even explored an area they knew was forbidden and under their own free will just to find Littlefoot,_" Jason thought. Littlefoot then noticed Jason was looking at him and turned to face him. Reacting to his glance, Jason whipped around trying to pretend he was still focusing on everyone sitting in the peaceful, little glade. Unable to keep his view fixed on the gang, Jason saw Littlefoot still looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Turning to him, Littlefoot smiled and Jason smiled back.

"Think we should lighten their spirits a bit? It sounds like they are really worried about you," Jason said.

"Yeah, okay. I'm sure they were worried about you too Jason. Don't forget that you are part of our group too," Littlefoot said merrily. Jason's eyes lit up and his smile broadened as Littlefoot's words processed in his head. After a few seconds to get over his friendly speech, Jason nodded as he watched Littlefoot's smile widen as well.

"Shall we?" Jason then said flicking his head in the direction of the rest of the gang.

"Yeah, let's," Littlefoot replied as they pushed their way through their bushy hiding places to rejoin the others.

            Listening to the rustling that was approaching them, the gang all looked up one by one and their faces all showed expressions of sheer shock and then of great joy.

"Dinee lookie! Is-a…!" Dana chirped happily.

"Yay Danee! Is-a Two-Legs!" Dinah confirmed bouncing up and down.

"Jason! You back!" Petrie cawed in shock as he flew over and perched on his shoulder.

"Yep, sure am Petrie," Jason said plainly but with a wide smile, "how's it going guys? Nice to see you all again." The area was still utterly gob-smacked apart from the threehorn twins who charged at him in excitement. Jason patted them each on the head to greet them as everyone else circled him and Littlefoot as if they were heavenly figures.

"Jason? How did you escape those humans?" Ali asked breaking the silence.

"Littlefoot busted me out. He infiltrated the Red Phoenix complex and got me out, completely undetected."

"You went in there all by yourself Littlefoot?" Ducky exclaimed.

"Uh-huh," Littlefoot said dismissively as if it were no trouble at all. The gang wooed in amazement.

"But wait a second, won't the humans come looking for you once they find out you're missing?" Ali then said concerned.

"Yeah, probably," Jason said shrugging, "but we can worry about that later." The small, clearing fell quiet again but this didn't faze Jason as he clapped loudly as if to break the haunting spell of silence hovering over them.

"Anyway, that's not what we're here for. The game's Manhunt and I'm up so get hiding!" Jason announced. Everyone scattered to distance themselves as Jason began to count. Whilst he counted, Jason felt a warm feeling inside as he found himself back with his friends but he still knew that he would be recaptured eventually. Despite knowing imprisonment would be inevitable, he let the thought slip him as he shouted,

"Ready or not! Here I come!"


	10. Part 8: The Red Phoenix's Revenge

Chapter 35: Desperate Times; Desperate Measures 

            After a few games, the gang collapsed under the shade of the wavering trees that bowed in the wind. They all sprawled out over the ground laughing jovially without a care in the world. They hadn't had fun like that had just experienced for such a long time with everything being so serious with the humans being around and all the mishaps that had happened beforehand. As they all lay on the ground staring up at the sky through a small gap in the canopies, they began describing the cloud shapes that floated gracefully across the endless blue.

"Hey look. That one looks like the Smoking Mountain," Ducky said pointing at a jagged edged cloud.

"Where? I can't see it?" Cera complained.

"Look there Cera. See the cloud with the pointy top. Ducky right, it look just like it," Petrie said scoring out the cloud with a finger.

"What? No it doesn't. It looks nothing like the Smoking Mountain," she continued to whine.

"Yes it does Cera. You just have to have a little imagination," Jason said.

"Hey. I can see a treestar-shaped one!" Littlefoot exclaimed.

"Yeah, I see it! That one next to the one that looks like a.uummm." Ali said but was stumped by strange looking cloud, "What could that one be?"

"It sort of looks like a.a longneck." Littlefoot said slowly.

"What's wrong Littlefoot?" Jason said noticing his drop in tone.

"It.it sort of looks like." he started but stopped and sighed, "just a longneck. That's what it is." Jason looked at Littlefoot as he continued to stare blankly up at the sky. He decided it would be better if he didn't say anything since he could tell what he was thinking.

"Oh lookie! That one looks like a human. It is standing next to the longneck-looking cloud," Ducky said. Jason returned his view back up to the sky and sure enough, a human-shaped cloud was drifting alongside the longneck one. The way it was positioned, it looked like it had a hand resting on the longneck as if to comfort it. Suddenly, Jason felt something drop as Littlefoot had. In the same manner, Jason sighed and sat up and looked across at the group who were all staring at him. His eyes past from one dinosaur to the next until they came to rest upon Littlefoot whose expression was a mirror image of his own. He stood up without saying a word and brushed the dirt of his back and the others did the same.

"Jason? Is something wrong?" Ali asked softly.

"Guys.I'm sorry," he said defeated.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Ducky asked not quite understanding.

"For everything. All this human invasion stuff is all my fault. I never should have come here. If humans and dinosaurs were meant to be together, I think evolution should have played that role over sixty-five million years ago."

"Jason, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense," Cera said sternly.

"I'm saying that I've completely screwed up the fabric of time. While I was sitting in that cell yesterday I was thinking. I should have never stepped through that time door when I did because now all this has happened. I can't understand why those stupid Red Phoenix men bothered coming after me but now they are here, they are ruining everything you guys have worked so hard at protecting. We come bursting in with weapons and misunderstanding of how your kind really live and survive. We are so wrapped up in our own importance as the supposedly "rulers of the world" and are supposed to "govern all creatures" but all we seem to do is cause misery and bring destruction to wherever we go."

"That's not your fault Jason. You can't be responsible for everyone of your kind," Littlefoot protested.

"Yeah, it's ALL of your kind's fault. What sort of creature kills their own just because something doesn't work out?" Cera snorted ignorantly. Jason sniggered at her comment.

"You're right Cera. We are stupid, but it's our nature. It's how we survive in our world. It may seem completely illogical and alien to you guys but it's how we function as a race. I just don't want anymore harm to come to this realm; we've done enough damage to our own time, we can't do the same here. I'd never forgive myself if anything bad happened to any of you because of the these meat-heads!"

"It's okay Jason.you'll." Littlefoot started. Halfway through his speech, a ripping sound tore over the area. In shock, everyone looked up through the trees where a red light shot into the sky and exploded.

"What was that!" Ali cried.

"It came from the Green Meadow. Let's go!" Littlefoot shouted and took off.

"Littlefoot wait!" Jason called after him. Everyone else chased after Littlefoot, ignoring Jason's cries.

            Littlefoot sprinted through the trees to reach the Green Meadow where he heard dinosaurs wailing in fear. Another red light tore through the air and exploded overhead. The rest of the gang were close behind. As Littlefoot jumped over the last bush that separated him from the Green Meadow, he saw the same three humans that Jason was talking to yesterday standing in the centre of the field. They were shouting orders.

"Captain, he's there!" Stone said tapping him on the shoulder and pointing at Littlefoot. Hunter muttered something into his radio and turned to face him. Littlefoot stood in shock. He was about to turn and run back into the woods but he was pounced on by five men who dragged him to the centre of the field. Littlefoot struggled and writhed to break free but there were too many of them. He was placed at Hunter's feet and pinned down. He looked up into Hunter's cold eyes but he just smiled malevolently.

            Seconds after Littlefoot was captured, Jason came tearing out of the thicket and looked around at the chaos that had broken out in the meadow. He felt sick and angry as he saw the Red Phoenix Squadron swarming all over the place like flies.

"Jason!!!" he heard a voice cry fearfully. Jason whipped round to see Littlefoot pinned under five fully-grown men.

"Littlefoot!!!" he shouted back and began running towards him. Before he could get to him, he was tackled to the ground. With no time to recover, Jason was seized, handcuffed and dragged over to Captain Hunter.

"You! Let Littlefoot go!" he yelled angrily. He charged at Hunter but another man flicked a pistol in his face, forcing him to stop.

"I think you are in no position to be demanding anything Jason," Hunter replied with a smug grin on his face.

"Hunter! Don't you DARE harm Littlefoot! If you do I swear I'll kill you myself!"

"Now, now Jason. I'm not here to cause unnecessary casualties. That's not how I work. I'm simply here to retrieve you, I have no business with your long-necked friend here but if you decide to be unco-operative."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM JASON! RUN!" Littlefoot cried.

"No! I'm not leaving you Littlefoot!" Jason said strongly, "Let him go Hunter. I'm the one you want." Just then, Jason heard desperate cries from behind him. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck had just entered the meadow to see what all the commotion was about.

"Littlefoot!" they cried.

"Grandpa no!" Jason warned as he could see him get ready to charge. In response, men pointed their rifles up at him in defence.

"Hold your fire!" Jill shouted.

"Jill. How could you do this? I thought you cared.I thought you were interested." Jason pleaded.

"I am Jason but I have a job to do. My mission comes before personal feelings. Don't be unreasonable Jason because I don't want to be responsible for any casualties that may occur if you are."

"You won't.you.you can't." Jason cried exasperatedly.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures I'm afraid Jason," she sighed.

"Please. Let my grandson go! He has done nothing wrong," Grandma Longneck pleaded.

"Let him go Hunter. You've got me now, that's what you want right?" Jason said. The scene of madness he could see around him was hanging in the balance. He didn't want a single inhabitant harmed but he would have to give himself up.

"Right. Men, we've got what we came for. Wrap it up and let's return to base," Hunter shouted. Jason sighed as the men lowered their weapons and began to leave the field.

"Hunter! I want you to promise me something," Jason shouted as he turned his back to move.

"What?"

"Swear to me. You won't hurt any living creature here. They don't need to get involved so don't harm them."

"Okay. As long as you don't pull another stunt like you did last night, you've got a deal."

"Okay done. You have my word."

"That's good because we've got a bargaining chip in our favour should you break that promise," he said sinisterly over his shoulder. Confused, Jason looked down at the men who had Littlefoot pinned to the ground. Littlefoot lay limply and was being hoisted into a stretcher, unconscious.

"No, Hunter! Damn you! You double-crossed me!" Jason screamed lividly.

"Just a precautionary measure my boy. Now come, we have much to discuss with Mr. Westwood," Hunter said plainly. Jason sighed in defeat. Now Littlefoot's life was in danger thanks to him. He looked up at Grandma and Grandpa Longneck who looked down on him.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that they don't harm him in any way. Just.please.don't do anything until we return otherwise we could both end up dead," Jason said regrettably. Grandpa Longneck nodded in acknowledgement.

"Please take care of him Jason. He is our only child, we cannot lose him."

"I will. Don't worry. I'll see to it that he is safe," Jason said finally. Then, another man approached him and placed a syringe in his arm. Without any resistance, Jason accepted the drug and he fell unconscious immediately. Gasping in horror, the inhabitants of the Great Valley watched them carry him and Littlefoot away all wondering what the humans had in store of the two of them. No one dared oppose them as they all heard Jason's plea to safeguard them all. The gang formed around the feet of Grandma and Grandpa Longneck, all in shock. Jason had been recaptured which is what the humans wanted but now, they had also seized Littlefoot to ensure that Jason did not try anything rash. Doing so would result in Littlefoot's demise.

Chapter 36: Fears, Tests and Interrogations 

            Jason awoke finding himself back in the murky jail cell he had escaped less than a day ago. Standing up slowly, he felt extremely light-headed as the chemicals that kept him drugged wore off. As his vision came back into focus, he found the entire area completely deserted apart from the echoing of footsteps out in the hallways. Holding his head, Jason then suddenly thought about Littlefoot and began searching around for him. He was not in the cell next to him or the third across the way. Without a sign of Littlefoot, Jason sat down on the dirty bed and sighed heavily. He had caused so much trouble for all the inhabitants of the Great Valley and now they had one hostage as a way of manipulating him. Jason knew that anything drastic would only create more trouble despite the flaming anger that was growing inside the more he thought about the Red Phoenix Squadron patrolling the landscape like a battleground. Such a peaceful, beautiful world he had tarnished with his arrival from the year 2113. Jason felt completely miserable as he thought more about how he had led the humans to the dinosaur realm.

            Then, the door opened and Professor Baxter strolled in followed by Jill. Jason looked up at the two of them and saw them smiling down on him.

"What do you want?" Jason moaned. Jill pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and unlocked the rusty cell door.

"Come on. Captain Hunter wants a word with you," she said calmly.

"He's the last person I want to have a conversion with at the moment after everything he's done."

"I know you're feeling angry right now Jason but the sooner you answer his questions, the sooner you can go," Jill said as comforting as she could.

"Also, we have news about your dinosaur friend," Professor Baxter said pushing his glasses up further on his nose.

"Littlefoot! Is he okay? You haven't."

"Calm down son, he's fine. My medical team are checking him over now. Quite a remarkable specimen I must say."

"Don't call him that please professor. He's not a science project, he's a living, breathing creature, not a lab guinea pig."

"Very well. You may see him after your interrogation with Captain Hunter," the professor said finally.

"Okay, thanks," Jason replied offering a smile. The professor was exactly as he had remembered him when he was younger. Always pleased to see him and always treated him like an adult.

"Come on Jason. Let's go," Jill said softly as she held the door open for him, "I'm supposed to handcuff you but I feel I can trust you not to do anything stupid."

"Don't worry I won't," Jason said nodding. She smiled at him and shut the cell door.

            Walking down the corridors, Jason looked around and tried to take in everything saw. The base looked very similar to how the ruined Red Phoenix Laboratories building did. The walls had marble slabs on them coloured with flame red and golden yellow streaks. The corridors bore numerous doors down both sides, some of which led to laboratories and others to dormitories.

"How did you get this base here in the first place?" Jason asked as they turned a corner.

"We had to transport the Chronos Doorway piece by piece over to a small bunker on the outskirts of the city. Took us quite a while, but when we got everything across and set it up again, we implanted the information of this time period we obtained from the log," the professor said.

"But mum always said that the project failed, something about now generating enough energy to hold the door open?"

"That was true but that fateful day when we found you in the building, something happened and you managed to activate it by merely touching the operation console. I was so excited that you finally managed to get the darn thing to work, I spent so much time getting all the kinks and bugs worked out of it that I improved its efficiency. It's still a little unstable but in the right environment, it can transport just about anything."

"We're here. Jason, please step inside," Jill said opening the door to a small room. Jason saw Hunter and Stone both sitting at a desk.

"Good luck son," Professor Baxter said patting him on the shoulder and giving him a wink. Jason smiled and nodded before Jill shut the door behind him. Hunter signalled for Jason to sit opposite him without looking at him. Not saying a word, Jason sat down whilst looking at the room. There was a large, reflective window behind Hunter and Stone where Jason guessed others would be watching him.

"Now Jason. I understand you feel very attached to the "creatures" that wander here but." Hunter began.

"They are not "creatures"! They are dinosaurs and they are very intelligent beings that don't deserve to be involved in all this," Jason interrupted. Jill hissed at him discreetly to calm him down. Jason knew he had to control his temper but the way that Hunter described everything and spoke to him; he was so ignorant and intimidating.

"Yes, very well. How did you activate that terminal back when we found you infiltrating our compound."

"Infiltrating? I wasn't." Jason jumped up but quickly recomposed himself and sat back down, "I.I don't know. I felt something.jump through me."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. It's hard to describe. It was sort of like a jolt or something that passed through me and when I touched the console, it just came to life."

"What created that "jolt" you describe?" the sergeant asked.

"How should I know?"

"We distinctly remember you holding that red stone around your neck in your hand. Did that have anything to do with it?"

"I.I don't know. Maybe."

"Come on kid! You must remember something!"

"Well I don't! I was too scared thinking you were going to kill me that I just felt something jump through me. That's all I can say about it."

            Jason's interrogation lasted over an hour. Hunter and Stone probed every aspect of Jason's past including his life with the dinosaurs and even sensitive subjects about his mother and their escape where she was killed. Painful as it was to recall, Jason answered their questions in the hope that they would let him go so he could see Littlefoot.

"So your mother was killed. By whom? Did you see his face?" Hunter continued.

"N-no! It was all black and just as I escape he shot her. Please! Can we stop talking about this? I really don't like discussing this as an open subject!" Jason complained close to tears.

"We'll delve as deep as we need to I'm afraid. The professor says that she used to work for him. Highly recommends her but what caused you and her to flee that day? Can you remember?"

"She.she said she just had an argument with someone high up. I was back in the her lab waiting to go home when two or three armed men came in demanding her to return to speak with another official or something like that. When she refused, she grabbed me, fought past the guards and the next think I knew, we were running for our lives," Jason said snivelling. Hunter fell silent. He paused to think as something distinctly memorable about that day suddenly cropped up in the back of his mind. He then turned around to the mirrored window behind him and made a gesture to it.

"Okay. We've done enough here. Lieutenant, please escort him off the premises."

"Yes sir!" Jill replied with a salute, "Come on Jason, let's go." Jason lifted himself up out his chair and walked over to the door exhausted. Once the door closed behind her, Stone puffed and turned to his captain.

"The kid's been through a lot," he said once he was sure they were safely out of hearing range.

"Yeah, but at least we got some answers out of him. I'm going up to report this to the data analysis team. Have you established a search team to explore our extraction point?"

"Team is assembled and ready for orders sir. Shall I send them out now?"

"No. We'll dispatch them tomorrow when we got more light. Professor says if we keep chewing up our energy supply like this, we'll never have enough to power the Chronos Doorway and we'll be stuck in this hell-hole."

            On the way back, Jason and Jill walked past some laboratories where scientists were scurrying around using bizarre looking equipment that looked like it belonged to an alien spacecraft. Jill looked at Jason and felt sorry for him. His story had touched her and she wanted to comfort him but Hunter had warned her not to get to friendly with him in case it distracted her from her duties.

"You did good in there Jason. You kept your cool and you came through fine," she said as they past another laboratory.

"It was hard but I was determined not to do anything stupid.for Littlefoot's sake," he sighed.

"You.really do care about him don't you?"

"Of course I do. Him, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali are the only friends I've got. They've accepted me as one of them despite me being human and all. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck also look after me like I'm one of theirs. Since mum died, I hadn't felt like I have recently for a long time. They actually care for me."

"I know the feeling. I lost my parents to that virus outbreak.and my lover. They fell ill whilst I was training for my position as lieutenant. Once I had been promoted to lieutenant having passed my training course, I received my certificate and I went home to tell them the good news. I opened the door and I found our pet dog dead on the doormat. Parts of his flesh were missing. Fearing the worse I rushed up to my parents' room but they were already dead before I got there."

"I'm.I'm sorry."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. It was a long time ago. Still, I wanted revenge but then I saw a note in my father's decaying hand. It said I should continue with my job and get on with my life, pleading that I didn't do anything that I'd regret.until this day I've kept my word. He also gave me an emerald ring as a parting gift. It was going to be my wedding ring but I found my lover's body in the shower in our flat. His body was already rotting because of the vicious nature of the virus because the colour of his flesh looked as if he had only died about an hour before I arrived but the huge chunks of flesh gouged out of his face and body looked as if he'd been dead for weeks. Anyway, my friends said that they had heard rumours that he was planning to surprise me when I got home. They said he was going to propose once I received my promotion so he went up to my parents' place to pick up the ring." Jill rolled back her fingerless gloves with the phoenix crest on and showed Jason a small, triangular green stone on a gold ring. Deep in its centre, a white swirl was encased in the jewel. "I treasure it to this very day. It reminds me of the loved ones I lost that day."

"Wow. That's really pretty. My mother's pendent has a stone that looks just like that one. Strangely enough, the day she died, she gave me my pendent. Oh, that reminds me! Do you know where it is? It looks just like that stone but it's a ruby. I think someone took it from me when you brought me in."

"No sorry. Maybe the professor knows."

            As they turned another corner, Jason looked through another viewing window and saw wavy, mahogany stripped tail from behind a screen.

"Hey, there's Littlefoot!" Jason exclaimed and ran to the door. Jill followed as he pressed his face up against the window. Professor Baxter was in the room, fiddling with various equipment. Seeing them at the window, he waved them in. Jason burst into the room excitedly and stood next to Littlefoot who remained unconscious on the table.

"Is he alright professor?" Jason asked nervously as he laid his hand on his side gingerly.

"Yes. I've just give him a drug to remove the tranquillising chemicals from his bloodstream. He should be coming around anytime now," he stated. Jason looked anxiously at Littlefoot who began to stir.

"Oh! Where am I? What happened?" he said weakly once he opened his eyes.

"Littlefoot. You okay buddy?" Jason asked beaming.

"Jason? You're alright!" Littlefoot cried and tried to leapt onto him. He jerked but he remained motionless.

"Whoa, take it easy pal. You've just woken up from being drugged. Don't move too fast," Jason said trying to calm him down.

"I can't move my legs. What's happened to me?" Littlefoot asked starting to panic.

"It's alright Littlefoot. Your limbs will become reanimate in a little while. The drugs take a little time to work," the professor said smiling.

            Once the arousal drug was give a little time to take effect, Littlefoot hopped down off the table and stretched.

"How are you feeling?" Jason asked as Littlefoot shook his legs back to life.

"I'm fine. What now? Do we have to stay here?" Littlefoot asked nervously.

"No, no. You're both free to go but we will contact you if we need you again," Jill said with a large smile.

"How are you gonna do that? Hope you're not gonna have to ambush me again," Jason said holding his hands up defensively.

"No, don't worry. That reminds me, take this device," Professor Baxter said handing Jason a small, hook-shaped machine.

"What's this?"

"It's a "Frequency Amplifier". This little gadget hooks onto the back of your ear. When we need to contact you, it will beep and simulate the small bones of your ear. You'll know it's us since it uses a specific frequency and cannot be traced by anyone."

"Cool! Thanks professor. Oh, one more thing. Have you seen my pendent? I think someone took it from me when I first got here." Professor Baxter began frantically searching the work surfaces.

"It was right here in my lab. Where's it got to?"

"Please find it. It's very special to me."

"I will; it was your mother's wasn't it? As soon as I find it, I'll contact you okay?"

"Great. Thanks professor."

            Jason turned to leave and saw Jill and Littlefoot talking to each other by the door. He smiled as he watched them. They seemed to be making friends already.

"Oh, ready to go then?" Jill said having noticed Jason standing over them.

"Yeah, let's go."

            Leading them to the front door, Jill dismissed the guard and let Jason and Littlefoot go free.

"You sure you guys will be okay finding your way back?" she called after them as they jogged away.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Littlefoot called looking back.

"Thanks Jill. You should come visit the Valley sometime," Jason suggested.

"I'll hold you to that Jason. Take care!" she shouted waving them off as they disappeared into the forest.

            Turning back into return to the base, Jill bumped into Hunter who was looming over her.

"Oh. Sorry captain. I didn't see you there," she said hurryingly.

"I certainly hope you're not getting too close to that boy lieutenant. Meddling in such affairs can cost a certain someone a title and much more if one's not careful," he bellowed slowly yet threateningly.

"No sir. I understand sir," she replied not looking him in the face.

"Good. Now rest up, you're up with search team tomorrow. I want you on full form," Hunter said sternly. Jill nodded and pushed her way past him feeling a little ashamed.

Chapter 37: Behind Sealed Doors 

            Behind his desk in a sectioned-off region of the Red Phoenix base, Dominic Westwood sat surveying readings being relayed to him on a monitor from the laboratories. Stroking his chin in thought, he was suddenly interrupted by a knock at his door.

"Come," he signalled to the door which flew open immediately. Captain Hunter marched in with a folder under one arm.

"Got the interrogation data from the research team. All physiological data has been amplified and key points in stress and energy levels have been highlighted," he stated placing the document on his desk.

"Good. I'll look over this later. So what's our current situation captain? Where should we go from here?" Westwood said swinging his mighty chair around to face the captain.

"I've already allocated personnel to their posts to investigate the extraction point at 0800 hours tomorrow morning. Do reckon it's really necessary to assign so many men to the site? I think it's a waste of a team members."

"You're not paid to think captain. You are paid to fulfil your duties as a commanding officer," Westwood said potently, "Has our young friend been escorted from the premises?"

"Yes. I saw to it that Lieutenant Fielding personally walked him to the door."

"And what of the dinosaur?"

"He left with him. Professor Baxter checked him over whilst the kid was in my custody."

"Do either of them suspect anything?"

"I don't believe so. They seem oblivious to anything. What of the power problem?" Hunter said quickly changing the subject.

"We are still consuming much more energy that we can create. If it carries on like this we may have to risk severing some of the experiments," Westwood replied unblinkingly.

"Which ones did you have in mind?" Hunter asked with an uncharacteristic nervousness.

"I don't know yet and I suggest that your squad moves quickly Captain otherwise you will receive an answer I'm sure you don't want to hear. I don't want to have to make sacrifices unnecessarily."

"Y-yes sir! I understand sir," Hunter said jumping standing upright.

"This company is so close to unveiling the greatest potential energy source known to mankind. With so much riding on this, I don't want any screw-ups! Failure is out of the question so don't disappoint me," Westwood said raising his voice. Hunter stood silently before he was dismissed from the office. As the heavy, wooden door clicked shut behind the captain, Westwood turned to the document he had left on his desk. From out of the folder, he began reading the written analysis of Jason's interrogation as the recording that was taken played on his computer. At certain sections, he smirked at Jason's responses as he recollected elements from the past mentally. After about half an hour of listening to the recording, Westwood started to become impatient and reached for his keyboard to stop it. Just as his fingers floated above the keys, the recording quickly changed in conversation to the day Jason was found in the Red Phoenix Laboratories, his mother's death and how he activated the Chronos Doorway. Westwood's expression switched immediately and he suddenly became keen on listening to Jason's every word. In amongst his weeping, he was able to uncover many aspects about Jason that jogged many past memories of him and his mother.

"It couldn't be." Westwood whispered softly as the recording ended and the dark office fell silent. Removing the disk of the recording from his computer, he quickly inserted another disk that displayed all the physiological data of the interrogation taken by the scientists behind the screen. Westwood eyed all the charts and graphs that flicked past on the screen one after another. His expression became increasingly more and more enlightened by what he saw.

"So it is true." he chuckled sinisterly, "You are." He was interrupted by a loud knock on his door.

"Yes. What is it?" he barked agitatedly.

"It's Professor Baxter Mr. Westwood. I have news about the tests I ran on the brontosaurus child," the professor said gingerly from behind the door.

"Really? I'll be right down," Westwood said. As the professor turned to walk down the corridor, Westwood looked back at the screen and stared at the graphs one last time before sniggering darkly, grabbing his jacket and heading for the large, oak door.

            Hurrying down the corridors, Westwood made his way to Professor Baxter's lab. As he barged his way in through the lab door, he found Professor Baxter at his workstation, typing some details into his computer.

"So, what did you find? And I hope for your sake this interruption is worthwhile," Westwood said rather impatiently.

"I ran some tests on him whilst Jason was in the interrogation room with Captain Hunter," the professor stated.

"And? What's the news?" he barked irritably.

"Well.I.umm.the results are here on screen. The simulation curve showing the required energy levels of the subject is the same as the one we're looking for. It's a perfect match," he stuttered nervously. Westwood began stroking his chin, deep in thought. He then eyed a small book just to the side of the monitor.

"What's this?" he asked gruffly picking it up and flicking through the pages.

"It appears to be a diary. I've been analysing that as well. One of the men on patrol brought it in; said they found it lying in the dirt somewhere in the surrounding woodland. I have reason to believe that it belonged to Jason's mother," the professor said slowly. Westwood's eyes suddenly glistened darkly as he read through the accounts of the diary.

"So, we have another match.interesting. I think we need to arrange another meeting with our young friend Jason and his little dinosaur pal."


	11. Part 9: Fire Fight!

Chapter 38: An Innocent Yet Fatal Mistake 

            "They just let you go?" Ali asked utterly amazed.

"Yeah, pretty much. They wanted to ask me a few questions and then that was it. They let me out, I met up with Littlefoot in the professor's lab, Jill escorted us to the entrance and we walked out free," Jason said simply shrugging his shoulders.

"So you mean after all the trouble they caused us of bursting in here and grabbing you, they just wanted to ask you a few questions?" Cera asked angrily. Jason nodded.

"What did they ask you Jason?" Ducky chirped jumping down from Spike's back.

"Really weird stuff about my childhood and my mother. They asked me things as if I was a creature from another planet! They mostly wanted to know about my mother's research but I don't understand why they needed to ask me about it; they could have just asked Professor Baxter since he was the head of the project."

"Humans are so weird," Cera blurted out hoping Jason would find it offensive. Instead he found it quite humorous and laughed.

"So what now? Do the humans plan to leave the Great Valley?" Littlefoot asked.

"I don't know. I heard plans that they were supposed to be looking for a way to reactivate the doorway that brought them here so I'd think so," Jason replied shrugging again.

"If they leave, will you go with them Jason?" Petrie cawed innocently. Jason flinched in surprise as all eyes were now fixed on him awaiting his answer.

"I…erm…I…" Jason stammered uneasily. Everyone leaned in closer.

"Littlefoot…Jason…" a soothing voice called from somewhere in the distance.

"That's Grandma," Jason said silently breathing a sigh of relief.

"Okay. See you guys tomorrow," Littlefoot said turning to head in the direction of Grandma Longneck's call. The gang gave them one last "bye" in unison before receiving bedtime calls of their own.

            Walking back home, Jason found himself stargazing as he strolled with Littlefoot beside him. Littlefoot looked at him as he marched blindly onwards with his view firmly fixed on the night-sky that was fast approaching. He could feel something burning inside him that he wanted to ask Jason but judging from his earlier stutter, he didn't know if he would give him a straight answer.

"Umm…Jason?" Littlefoot asked unable to hold it in any longer.

"Huh? Oh, yeah Littlefoot?" Jason said trying hard not to break his unfocused gaze as he awaited Littlefoot's question but he feared he already knew what it was he was going to ask.

"About…what Petrie said…you know," Littlefoot said struggling with his words.

"I was afraid you were going to ask," Jason said slowly. Littlefoot felt dirty for asking but he couldn't withhold the temptation. It was a deep and meaningful question despite being a very simple one.

"So…if the humans were to return to where they came from, would you…go with them?" he asked finally. Jason dropped his head and sighed.

"What do you want to hear? Would you prefer I stayed here or do you think I should go back to the year 2113?" he said tensely. Littlefoot was shocked by his response. He had managed to turn the question around put him in the spotlight.

"I dunno Littlefoot. I feel I have done enough damage to this realm as it is. I don't want anything else to happen to you or the Great Valley; so in that sense, I feel I should return to the human world." Littlefoot felt his stomach sink suddenly on hearing this.

"But…then again. I've never seen such a beautiful landscape and I doubt I will ever see another as radiant and tranquil. Also, I'll have nothing to go back to. With no family or friends and the Red Phoenix Laboratory squadron hovering over me every minute of every day, I'll never feel safe or cared for. In that aspect, I don't want to leave this place. Never in a million years." This statement made Littlefoot's spirits rise just as the previous had made it drop. He smiled and Jason smiled back.

"To be honest, it's not something I want to think about and I did feel angry when Petrie asked that in front of everyone. But it's a decision I guess I'm going to have to face eventually," he sighed.

"Don't worry Jason. Either way it's your choice. I'm…I'm sorry I asked you…" Littlefoot said guiltily.

"Hey. There's no need to be sorry. I should have seen it coming. Anyway, let's get home." Wrapping his arm over Littlefoot's neck, they both walked back home where Grandma and Grandpa Longneck stood waiting to see them into bed.

            The next morning, Jason and Littlefoot both woke up with a start. Their night had been restless, tormented by nightmares of monsters and other strange beings attacking and destroying everything in their path. Littlefoot jumped up in a cold sweat, panting and Jason fidgeted so much he fell out of his tree, landing rather heavily on his back.

"Jason? Are you alright?" Littlefoot asked between breaths.

"Ooooo! Yeah, just about…don't think anything's broken," Jason hissed rubbing the base of his spine, "What a night. I had the craziest dream…"

"Yeah, me too! It was about strange monsters attacking everyone and everything," Littlefoot said having just reclaimed his breath.

"No way! That's what my dream was about. Mad creatures on some sort of hell-bent rampage! Weird!" Jason gasped in surprise. He sat up and felt something under him. He quickly jumped up and found that the device Professor Baxter had given him was laying in the dew sparkled grass.

"What's that white thing? Isn't that the thing that human gave you?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yeah, it's a Frequency Amplifier I think Professor Baxter called it. He said he'll use it to get in contact with me if he needs me. It hasn't done anything yet," Jason said quickly hooking the small, white box behind his ear again. Hopping to his feet (and Jason doing likewise), Littlefoot looked around to find that both his grandparents had disappeared.

"Where are Grandma and Grandpa?" Littlefoot said a little anxious.

"I dunno. Where could they have taken off to this early?" Jason said curiously having their absence brought to his attention.

"Shhh! Listen…" Littlefoot then said raising his head up high.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked straining to listen to his surroundings.

"Sounds like some sort of commotion going on in one of the fields…" Littlefoot said slowly.

"C'mon. If it's got anything to do with those Red Phoenix guys, there's bound to be trouble," Jason barked grabbing his bag and following Littlefoot towards the sounds of travelling dinosaurs.

            Arriving in an overcrowded field near the Green Meadow, Littlefoot and Jason looked at all the adult dinosaurs clustered in such a small area as they chattered excitedly. Weaving in and out of the many pairs of legs, they found the rest of the gang standing at the very front. Their views were transfixed on something.

"Hey guys! What's going on here?" Littlefoot chirped happily.

"The humans are moving, they are," Ducky said pointing at fleet of uniformed men marching through the field, all carrying heavy-looking equipment and a variety of black bags.

"Do you think they are migrating?" Ali asked naively.

"Nah. Humans don't run on instincts like migrating," Jason said chuckling.

"Where are they going then?" Cera asked, "Think they might finally be leaving?"

"Cera! You promise you no say bad things like that!" Petrie snapped.

"Don't worry about being caring Petrie. I've decided that I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"Bridge? What bridge? What a bridge anyway?" Petrie then asked scratching his head.

"Never mind," Jason said shaking his head. He then looked up and saw Jill walking with a rather hefty looking bag she had perched on one shoulder. Jason hurried up to her and the gang slowly followed but kept their distance. As Jason approached her, the entire field fell silent in anticipation.

"Hey Jill," Jason called from a couple of metres from her. As Jill turned to face him, several men dropped their bags and cocked their rifles. Jason instantly threw his hands up in innocence and the gang froze in their tracks.

"Take it easy guys, weapons down," Jill said calmly pushing down the barrel of the nearest man's gun. She signalled for them to carry on as she placed her bag down, wiped her brow with her beret and then looked at Jason and the petrified gang behind him.

"Phew. Thought those blokes were gonna go psycho or something," Jason said relieved.

"They're just following orders. If they put up and shut up, they don't get stick from the captain," Jill said pulling her hair out of her eyes with a free hand. She then looked up past Jason and saw Littlefoot and the others standing nervously a little further back.

"Who are they? Friends of yours?" she asked pointing to them.

"Yeah. C'mon guys, it's safe," Jason called to them and waving them over. After exchanging an uneasy glance each, they slowly moved up to Jason and Jill one by one.

"Guys, this is Jill. Jill this Cera, Petrie, Ducky, Spike and Ali. You've met Littlefoot already I believe," Jason said happily. Jill looked at each of them in turn.

"Quite a mix," she said with a snigger. Not long after the introduction, the gang found themselves engaged in a conversation with Jill as she spoke a little about her experiences and the mass of questions they all threw at her like hailstones.

            Finally, Jill picked up her bag again and placed it on her shoulder.

"Well, it was fun talking to you lot but I've got a job to do," she said about to take off.

"Where are you heading with all those black bags?" Jason asked.

"We're trying to set up a suitable extraction point that the doorway will work from. We've got to assemble the machine up on the outskirts of the Valley. After I'm done, I'll come down and speak with you guys again." With a final wave, the gang wished her luck and she headed off towards the woods.

            Once Jill and the rest of the Red Phoenix squad had marched out of the field. All the inhabitants that were watching them cautiously turned to each other and started chattering again. Jason, Littlefoot and the others walked back into the centre of the field where they bumped into Grandma and Grandpa Longneck.

"Oh, hiya Grandma, Grandpa," Littlefoot said looking up at them.

"Good morning children," Grandma Longneck said sweetly. She then turned to Jason, "Jason. What did that human girl say? Everyone was eager to know what you were talking about."

"Her name is Jill, Grandma. She's really nice. She's not like those other humans with those weird 'fire-sticks'," Littlefoot jumped in. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"We spoke with her, we did," Ducky chirped.

"What did she say?" Grandpa Longneck asked. The gang hadn't realised that all the dinosaurs who were standing in the field had now formed a circle around them to listen in.

"It sounds like the Red Phoenix Group are looking for a place to set up the machine that brought them here in the first place. They need to be in the right place otherwise it won't work," Jason said.

"Jill say that they go to the edge of Great Valley to work there," Petrie croaked perching on Littlefoot's head.

"I don't think they will be causing too much trouble up there. They just need to set up, try the time door out and take it back down. How much damage can they create?" Jason said simplistically.

"Probably quite a lot if they go too far!" Cera blurted out ignorantly. Jason threw her a dirty look and frowned.

"If we just let them do what they've got to do, they'll leave with minimal fuss I'd imagine," he continued.

"Alright, let us leave the humans with what they have planned," Grandpa Longneck announced to the ring of elders surrounding them.

            Slipping out of the circle, the seven kids decided to go and amuse themselves away from the crowded fields of the Green Meadow.

"Where should we go now?" Ali asked as they cut through another thicket.

"I dunno. The Tall Trees?" Jason suggested.

"We've been there loads of times! Isn't there somewhere else we can go?" Cera whined.

"The Bubbling Mud?" Petrie said taking off to land on Cera as Spike helped himself to a bushy fern.

"Oh no. I do not feel like getting all muddy, no, no, no," Ducky said sliding off Spike as well before he threw her into the bush he was eating from.

"Hey, where's that path go?" Jason asked pointing up a steep track that led high up into the rocky hills.

"That goes up to Two Boulder Pass. You can see the whole Great Valley from up there on Great Valley Lookout," Littlefoot said proudly.

"How about it? Fancy going up there?" Jason said invitingly. With no other suggestions (and once they managed to pull Spike away from his feeding spot), everyone trudged up the steep path that led up into the rocky hills of the Valley.

            After a long trek, the gang finally reached Two Boulder Pass and the spot Littlefoot described as Great Valley Lookout. Despite all being tired from the climb, Jason and Ali looked out over the cliff edge and down into the Great Valley completely awestruck. As Littlefoot had said, every inch of the Valley could be seen from this point in all its splendour and magnificent beauty. Even the thick, cotton-like clouds enhanced the effect as rays of sunlight pierced through them like shimmering rolls of golden ribbons.

"Wow! This is wonderful!" Ali gasped with her jaw dropping open.

"Whoa! This view is something else! Such natural beauty…it's incredible!" Jason gawked suspended in the moment. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike looked at each other smiling at Jason and Ali's reaction. They were so impressed with their homeland, it made them feel proud. Approaching the cliff edge, the others stood next to Jason and Ali to admire the view for themselves as they began pointing out landmarks.

"Look! There's the Bubbling Mud!" Ali said, "Oops! Someone just slipped in!"

"Hey! You can even see some parts of the Mysterious Beyond! Over there! Is that Saurus Rock?" Jason asked pointing out a rock spire in the distance.

"Oh lookie! There is Threehorn Peak!" Ducky announced following Spike's gaze.

"Look, down there! That the Great Wall? It look so small from up here!" Petrie cawed in amazement from the air.

"Those humans are down there! What are they doing?" Cera said looking in Petrie's direction.

"Some of them are on the other side of the wall," Ali said slightly confused.

"What are they doing that for?" Cera asked in a stupefied tone. Jason leaned over to get a closer look.

"They look like ants down there. Huh? They're all scattering in panic. What are they doing?"

            Watching the tiny humans scurrying around, the gang stood perplexed. Suddenly, there was a tremendous explosion that shook the entire Valley. Completely caught off-guard, the gang all dived down as the sounds erupted over the area, the ground shook and a thick cloud of smoke and dusty debris flew into the air. One by one, they got to their feet and slowly peered over the edge. As the blanket of dust cleared, everyone gasped in horror.

"Wha…What happened?!" Cera stammered.

"The Great Wall!!! It's…gone!!!" Littlefoot cried.

"Those idiots! They just blew a hole in the Great Wall! That's what they were doing! It probably just looked like a pile of rubble to them," Jason scowled.

"What are we going to do now?" Ducky asked exasperatedly.

"We'd better get down there. Come on!" Littlefoot shouted urgently before shooting off down the rocky path back down into the Valley.

            Charging headlong through the woodland, Jason, Littlefoot and the others came to the base of the Great Wall where Red Phoenix squad members were setting up the Chronos Doorway. One guard who spotted the seven of them called for them to halt but they barged past knocking him out of the way in anger. As commotion built up, more guards headed them off, guns pointing dangerous at them. Stopping in their tracks, the gang started arguing with the men.

"What's going on here?" a commanding voice bellowed over them.

"Jill?" Jason called out.

"Jason? What are you guys doing here? You shouldn't be up here, you could get hurt."

"Jill! You've got to stop!" Jason pleaded. Jill shook her head in confusion.

"What? Why?"

"You stupid humans! Do you realise what you have just done? You just destroyed the Great Wall!" Cera shouted angrily.

"The what? We were just clearing a path. We had to use explosive since we didn't have the equipment to shift it all," Jill said naively unaware of what damage her team had just caused.

"The wall of boulders you just obliterated was this Valley's main defence line! It's a natural boundary that protects their home from the threat of predatory invasion!" Jason cried desperately.

"You've got to put it back, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky pleaded.

"I…I don't understand, what are you…" Jill started but the area was suddenly filled with a scream from one of the team members. Everyone whipped around in shock as the screaming continued and then died slowly.

"What the hell was that?" Jill shouted as a private sprinted up to her.

"Lieutenant! You better come take a look at this…it's Mitchell!" he reported. Jill headed off with the private. Confused, the gang followed her.

            Passing through the gaping hole that marked the remains of the Great Wall, the gang came to halt just behind a ring of men crowding around something. Pushing their way through, Jason found Jill in the centre examining the cause of the crowd with his friends close behind. Peering over her shoulder, they gasped in horror as they saw a mangled corpse of a man lay on a pile of rocks; his left arm and right leg were completely tore from his body as it lay in a growing pool of its own blood. Disgusted, the gang backed away unable to look at it anymore.

"My God! What the hell happened here?" Jason said feeling a little nauseated. Jill emerged from the crowd to join them.

"That was Steven Mitchell. Looks like he was attacked by something with a taste for blood," Jill said gravely, "what exactly have we uncovered here?"

"Everything outside the Great Valley is called the Mysterious Beyond," Littlefoot said.

"It is very hard for leaf-eaters to survive out there. Leaf-eaters always live in fear of sharpteeth who walk around outside Great Valley," Petrie added solemnly.

"Even if you do live out there like my herd, you always have to move otherwise they will track you down and the next thing you know…you're a meal for a pack of hungry sharpteeth," Ali said speaking from experience.

"The Great Valley is protected by the Great Wall and it keeps the sharpteeth out, but now you blasted a gigantic hole in it and now any kind of dinosaur could walk straight in!" Cera shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what…" Jill began but the area suddenly erupted into screams and the sound of gunfire. In amongst the frantic firing, Jill radio crackled into life.

"Lieutenant! We're under attack here! These raptors jumped out of the bushes and…Damn!…Get it!…I can't hit it!…we're getting slaughtered here…we need back up…Oh!…Dammit!…AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!……………………………………"

"Come in!…Report your status!…Answer!!!" Jill roared into her radio but it just fizzed with static.

"What's going on?!" Jason cried anxiously.

"You kids better get out of here! We've got something attacking the squad. Go back down into the Valley and warn your families!" Jill ordered flicking her assault rifle around to her front and loading a live round into its chamber.

"But what about you? You can't take them on alone!" Littlefoot protested.

"Just go! Before you get hit in the crossfire! Go! NOW!" she barked. Just as she was about to take off, a blood-curdling roar was heard from behind. Snapping around, Jill and the gang saw a raptor standing on a pile of rocks behind them. With a final roar, the raptor leapt off the rock and tried to pounce on them. With no time to move, the gang slammed their eyes shut and screamed in fear as it was about to land on top of them and seize them with a flick of its jagged jaws. Before the raptor fell on them, there was a loud crack of gunfire and a squeal of pain. Opening their eyes, they saw the raptor fly awkwardly off to one side and Jill standing over them with her mighty rifle pointing at it.

"Run! NOW! Warn your families! GO!" she shouted. Without uttering another word, the gang took off and sprinted down into the Valley.

            On their way back down, they saw more men fighting with hoards of carnivorous dinosaurs. Absolute pandemonium had broken out as dead bodies of both men and raptors littered the ground as they charged through the battleground watching some raptors getting mown down by machine-gun fire whilst other men were being pounced on and their capturers feasting on their flesh. Blindly, they ran down into the Great Valley to warn the others that carnivores had now invaded their home.

Chapter 39: Like a Dagger to the Heart 

            From their positions, standing in the Green Meadow, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck, Mr. Threehorn and a large variety of different dinosaur looked over in the direction of the manic sound of gunfire and explosions. Deeply concerned what may be occurring up on the hillside from behind the dense rows of trees, everyone stood desperate to learn more, but too scared to move.

"What do you think could be happening up there dear? Grandma Longneck asked giving her partner a troubled glance.

"I'm afraid I don't know. I hope that Littlefoot and Jason are safe wherever they are," Grandpa Longneck replied with a concerned tone.

"It sounds like those humans are causing more damage to our Valley. We can't just sit here idly and allow them to destroy our home!" Cera's father shouted indignantly. A number of dinosaurs around him nodded and chattered agreeing.

"They have invaded our home for long enough," a male parasaurolophus said angrily.

"They are destroyers! They must go!" another dinosaur called from behind.

"Those humans have delayed our migration for too long. Because of them, we can no longer reach the High Hills via the routes our forefathers took," one longneck in Ali's herd shouted adding to the heat of the argument.  Heated cheers and angry comments flew into the air as more wild accusations were chanted above the previous wave.

"Please my friends! We must not drop our differences on the humans now! We must remember Jason's warning that they are particularly dangerous and that confronting them may result in unnecessary harm," Grandpa Longneck said trying to form some sort of order amongst the squabbling adults.

"You know what caused all this? It's that human boy that showed up all that time ago. This is all Jason's fault this is happening to us!" Cera's father shouted gruffly.

"That's not true! Jason is not responsible for the actions of these humans. He is not to blame!" Grandma Longneck said crossly.

"Well, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't be in this mess!" he continued with no remorse.

"If it was not for Jason, a number of us would not be alive! Our Littlefoot for one and you for a second," Grandpa Longneck barked in Jason's defence. Mixed thoughts now riddled the quarrelling dinosaurs as they started to babble again.

            Before anymore arguments could break out, Littlefoot, Jason and the rest of the group tore from out of the trees at full speed. Their panic-stricken steps attracted the adults' attention immediately. Screeching to a halt at their feet, they began to yell and shout excitedly.

"Grandma, Grandpa!" Littlefoot cried desperately.

"What is it Littlefoot? Why the rush?" Grandma Longneck asked trying to calm him down.

"We got problems! BIG problems!" Jason forewarned panting loudly.

"Yeah. Big problems with large pointy teeth and sharp claws!" Petrie babbled unhelpfully.

"I don't understand children. What are you trying to say?" Grandpa Longneck asked shaking his head in confusion.

"Sharpteeth are in the Valley! They are!" Ducky flapped, jumping up and down on Spike who was nodding hurryingly. The surrounding adults gasped and their panicked chatter started again.

"Jill and the other humans are trying to fight them now!" Ali said urgently.

"That's impossible! No sharptooth can get around the Great Wall! It's impregnable!" Cera's father bellowed arrogantly.

"But Daddy! Those stupid humans destroyed the Great Wall! It's not there anymore!" Cera protested rather unsupportively.

"What! Is this true? Could that explain the banging we heard earlier?" Ducky's mother cried as she approached Ducky and Spike.

"Yes. Jill and her team must have used some sort of explosives to blow up the Great Wall. They…they didn't know what it was…I-i…It-it probably just looked like a pile of gravel to them!" Jason stammered. More gasps of terror filled the area before everything fell silent suddenly. Jason then turned and realised that the elders had crowded around them but all eyes were fixed on him as if he was something on display. Beginning to feel extremely self-conscious he looked up at his grandparents for an answer. They looked at each other but didn't reply. Jason could sense the icy glares of the other inhabitants from behind him.

"What? What is it?" Jason suddenly blurted out unable to sustain the tormenting eyes constantly gazing at him.

"This is your fault!" one shout erupted from the crowd after a time.

"YEAH! Your kind is responsible for this!" another sounded over the previous.

"Wha…! I…err…I…" Jason stuttered horrified.

"You humans have caused nothing but misery to our beloved Valley!"

"Yeah! Go back to wherever you came from!"

"Dirty creatures! Leave this place!"

"Leave us in peace!"

            The crowd began jeering uncontrollably. Jason was totally perplexed by the sheer mass of shouting and insults he was taking. He blocked his ears trying not to listen but they were much too loud to be silenced. His world seemed to be spinning around him chaotically. The gang watched dumbstruck as the unruly crowd continued to offend Jason as Grandma and Grandpa Longneck tried desperately to keep the peace. Unable to withstand the torturing comments, Jason fled the meadow deeply upset. The gang turned just in time to see Jason charge blindly into the forest to escape the madness.

"Jason! Wait!" Littlefoot hollered after him as he disappeared from sight.

"No go Jason! Come back!" Petrie shouted trying to get his voice above that of the squabbling adults. Littlefoot was getting ready to chase after him but his grandfather stepped in his way.

"No Littlefoot. I think it is better that Jason is left alone for a while…" he said softly. Littlefoot wanted to argue but he nodded in acknowledgement. His eyes returned to the thicket Jason had just run through and he sighed despairingly.

"…Oh…Jason…" Ducky sighed heavily as Spike whimpered in unison.

            Tears began flooding his eyes as he tore negligently through the undergrowth. Branches whipped against him cutting his arms as he shoved them out of the way in mid stride. The insults echoed and replayed in his head over and over forcing him to run faster despite his aching muscles screaming for him to stop. Ignoring his pain, he continued to hurtle deeper into the Valley with no idea where he was going, but it didn't matter. He just wanted to distance himself from every living thing that could possibly throw more verbal abuse at him. As he passed from one thicket, through a clearing and into the next set of bordering trees, Jason could feel his chest pulling tight and he felt his throat becoming dry. His airways felt raw as he mindlessly ploughed through the trees and bushes that thrashed against him, slashing at his arms and face. Coming into another clearing, Jason tried to leap over a large, looping tree root but it caught the tip of his trainers causing him to trip. Wailing, he fell to the ground and rolled until he finally came to rest, face down, under a tall tree that shook gently on the soft wind.

            Unable to stand from sheer exhaustion, Jason sat up puffing heavily. Fighting to keep his tears back, he folded up, hugging his knees. He wanted to just die right there as the insults continued to burn his insides like wild fire on a dry heath. He felt dirty and unworthy of anyone's trust as he sat under the swaying tree as its leaves fell tenderly like red and gold snowflakes.

"Damn them! Damn ALL of them! They've mess up my life yet again! Damn them all to hell!!!" Jason shouted pounding the ground, throwing the leaf-litter high into the air.

"I'm just another freak to them! They don't care! They don't give a crap about me! Damn those Red Phoenix bastards! When will it stop?…When will all this madness come to an end?…When can I find a home that's not invaded by those power sapping leeches?…They don't give a damn about anything but themselves! I'm just another statistic to them…just another mindless, pathetic creature that doesn't belong anywhere! I hope those raptors tear them all to shreds! I hate them!…I HATE THEM ALL!!!" Jason screamed through his tears until his voice was hoarse.

"What am I going to do now? They've screwed up everything here as well. The Great Valley's gonna become a festival for those raptors…I have to do something…I can't allow those morons to destroy this realm as well as our own! No! They've stepped in my way too many times. Littlefoot, Grandma, Grandpa and the others would never give up on me…I can't lay my hang-ups on them because of their mistake." Jason stood up shakily and wiped his tear-stained face. He wanted so badly to right the wrongs of the Red Phoenix Group but he didn't know how. Just as he was thinking of what to do, Jason heard ear-splitting screams echoing from the direction he had just run from.

"Oh my God!!! Grandma! Grandpa!" he gasped, "Oh man! Littlefoot, Cera, Ali and the others are in that meadow! They're under attack!" Without another word, Jason took off, double backing to return to the meadow he had fled. Still, he was without a plan but if he was going to prove his loyalty to the dinosaurs, he had to fight alongside them. And if it came to it…he would die alongside them as well…

            Ripping back through the undergrowth to return to the Green Meadow, Jason's mind raced with horrible thoughts of what would become of the Valley had the raptors successfully taken over and defeated the leaf-eaters. Even if the raptors were forced to flee, with the Great Wall now gone, wave after wave of bigger and more vicious predators would attack and eventually, the Great Valley would fall. Shaking his head to rid himself of such foul thoughts, Jason could hear the terrified shouts, screams and roars of dinosaurs coming from field ahead. As he burst through the last thicket to enter the meadow, he froze with utmost fear and disgust at the sight he saw. Every inhabitant was fleeing for their lives, scrambling in all directions. Their attempts to escape into the surrounding woodland were dashed as the raptors circled them, blocking their exits. Everyone looked absolutely petrified as they backed away slowly further into the Green Meadow. Leaving the raptors to roar triumphantly at their capture. Jason's burning rage was growing more and more as he watched everyone cower in fear at the grimy clutches of the carnivorous monsters.

            Just as he worked up the courage to charge out screaming, a tremendous roar filled the area followed quickly by a swoosh of a mighty object being dragged through the air. Jason looked up to see Grandpa Longneck swinging his hefty tail dangerously as it connected with the face of a stalking raptor who came too close. Like a cannonball, the raptor was launched skywards and landed heavily in the thicket, rattling a tree on impact.

"We must protect our home and our families! We will not back down to these hideous creatures! We must stand up and FIGHT!" he yelled valiantly.

"YES! This is OUR home! And we WILL protect it from any threat or danger!" Cera's father added boldly pawing the ground. The meadow suddenly erupted with spirited cheers that brought a smile to Jason's face.

            Suddenly, Jason looked on and saw a number of children stood in the centre of a ring, shielded by the adults. In amongst the frightened dinosaur children, Jason spotted Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali all looking around, eyeing the outer circle of raptors fearfully. Just as he was about to call out to them, Jason heard the sound of heavy breathing from a few metres behind him. Snapping around, Jason saw another raptor poking its head out of a bush, hissing loudly.

"WHOA! Geez!" Jason wailed leaping up from his seat from behind his hedge before running into meadow as his stalker tried to pounce on him as he moved. Unintentionally drawing attention to himself, Jason sprinted across the green to reach the protective circle of leaf-eaters. Both the raptors and the elders looked up to see Jason running hastily towards them.

"Look!" Ducky gasped pointing across the field.

"It's Jason!" Ali cried in shock.

"What?!" Littlefoot called out awestruck.

"It true! Jason coming this way!" Petrie yelled from overhead as he took to the sky for a clearer look. All six of them ran to the edge of the circle that shielded them and began calling for Jason to hurry. Jason looked up and focused on the gang frantically flapping at him. He smiled at them, temporarily forgetting what he was in the middle of. As he got closer to them, he saw their faces twist into expressions of horror and began shouting more urgently. Slightly confused, he struggled to listen to the random jumble of voices that rang out to him. Straining to listen hard, he suddenly made out a voice from the crowd.

"Jason! Look out! Behind you!" Littlefoot shouted warningly. At that second, Jason turned to look over his shoulder. Horrified, he saw a number of raptors chasing him and they were catching up fast. Despite trying to push himself to go faster, the leading raptor pounced on him, tackling him to the ground. The raptor roared in success as Jason squirmed under its feet with its ugly, arching toe-claw rolling dangerously over his spine.

            Puffing from lack of breath and with the full weight of the raptor on his torso, Jason felt death was imminent but he quickly remember his vow that he made before he heard all the chaos breaking out. "_If I die…I die as one of them…_" he thought as he looked up and saw Littlefoot and the others looking down on him all very upset. With one free hand, he tried to reach out to them. In response, the raptor flicked its toe claw and dug it into his right shoulder. Jason winced in pain as it pierced his flesh and his arm became ice cold and lifeless. Holding back his tears and gritting his teeth so not to scream and alert the other raptors, he fell limply at the incredible pain that tore through his shoulder and arm. Seeming to enjoy in his suffering, the raptor twisted its claw inside his wound making him writhe in agony as on-lookers watched horror-struck and dismayed. Littlefoot felt sick as he watched Jason laying under the raptor as it tortured him on the grass.

            The raptors all roared as if to cheer at Jason's capture and began to advance slowly on the circle of leaf-eaters that stood poised, ready to fight, but also watching Jason now collapsed on the ground. Fearing his life was now at an end, Jason wept as he felt a warm liquid begin to soak his clothes and spill out on the grass to the side of him. Wishing he'd just die so his suffering would end, Jason suddenly hear a deep voice bellow into the meadow.

"HEADS UP KID!!!" Weakly, Jason turned his head to see Sergeant Stone charging at him followed by Captain Hunter and a few other men. Jason then saw something flash out of the corner of his eye but the next thing he knew, the raptor that stood over him had been tackled by something and was sent sprawling. As it flew off his back, Jason cringed and screamed in agony as the raptor's claw was ripped out of his shoulder. Rolling over and clutching his wound in excruciating pain, Jason looked up to see the sergeant's Alsatian, Zephyr, was mauling his captor.

"Are you alright?!" Stone asked breathlessly as he kneeled beside him. Captain Hunter and the rest of the small team charged past them, opening fire on the raptors.

"My…my arm! I-I can't move it!" Jason complained picking himself up but collapsed again, holding his flaccid arm. The shoulder of his jumper was damp and bloodstained.

"C'mon kid! We'll patch you up in a sec okay?" Stone replied helping him up. With a quick whistle to call Zephyr over, the sergeant and Jason made their way over to the ring of dinosaurs. Despite being pleased to see Jason had survived his ordeal, everyone looked worryingly at the humans who stood with their rifles pointing at the remaining raptors who seemed apprehensive to advance.

            Once the excitement of the humans' arrivals had worn off, Hunter began barking orders to his squad. Relieved to finally be inside the defensive ring of the adult leaf-eaters, Jason fell to his knees as the pain seared through him again but the gang were there instantly to comfort him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jason asked as Littlefoot lifted him up with his head.

"Got a broken distress call from Jill up in the hills saying that they were ambushed. Told us to cover you," Stone stated glancing over his shoulder but remained turned towards the raptors.

"Jill! Where is she? Is Jill okay?" Ali quickly jumped in.

"Her radio is out of commission. We couldn't get through to her after her team was attacked," Hunter said blandly.

"So…what happened to her?" Cera barked. No one replied. The silence was then broken by impatient roars of the raptors. 

"So what now?" Littlefoot said eyeing the row of raptors that was slowly descending upon them. The guards fidgeted uneasy as their fingers floated tensely over their triggers.

"Ummm…I hate to be pushy but those sharpteeth are coming this way!" Cera warned.

"Hope you guys have gotta plan?" Jason said finally finding the strength to stand on his own two feet.

"Everyone stay back. Keep behind us!" Captain Hunter ordered.

"What do you propose to do?" Grandpa Longneck asked.

"We'll cover you whilst you escape," Stone stated.

"But if we make a break for it, they only chase after us!" Petrie cawed.

"Yeah, and you can't fire on us with our backs turned! You're bound to hit one of us!" Jason protested.

"Don't worry we will…" Stone started but another roar from the raptors drew his attention and that of everyone else. Suddenly, they turned and fled into the woods as if to be running in fear of something.

"Huh?" Ali said twisting her face up in confusion, looking at Spike who shrugged.

"Where they going?" Petrie asked dumbfounded. The squadron lowered their weapons and stared at each other.

"What's going on here? Why'd they run off like that?" Cera asked just as shocked as everyone else.

"What now Captain?" Stone asked turning to his commanding officer. Hunter stood in silence for a brief minute or two.

"You two. Go investigate but stay alert," he barked finally tapping the two nearest men. The two men exchanged a nervous glance each before holding up their rifles and walking cautiously over to the bushes where the raptors ran.

            A gripping silence glided over the meadow like a light mist as the two men trudged over to the thicket. With baited breath and fluttering hearts, the gang edged closer to the verge of the circle, watching the men creep closer and closer. Upon their arrival at the bush, one man stood back whilst the other searched the surrounding area. After a thorough search, the man holding the bush back signalled back to the captain from across the field. The gang looked up to see Hunter's response. Nodding in acknowledgement, Hunter raised his hand and gestured to them in some sort of coded way that the investigators understood as they quickly disappeared into the woodland. The gang all looked at each other slightly bewildered but quickly reverted their eyesight back to where the men had gone to investigate.

            Tension was mounting as nothing could be heard through the rustling of the bordering trees as leaf litter danced on the wind.

"What's taking them so long?" Cera whinged.

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Ali asked slightly worried.

"They are certainly taking a long time, they are," Ducky said concerned. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees ahead. The crowd gasped and the squadron immediately held their guns up ready but Hunter shot his hand in front of them, ordering them to hold their fire. The rustling grew louder and suddenly, faint gunfire could be heard in the distance.

"What's going on over there?" Littlefoot said beginning to tremble. No one answered but they couldn't remove their eyes from the shrubbery that was shuffling and shaking. The gunfire had stopped abruptly and it was getting closer. Holding their breath, Jason and the rest of the dinosaurs looked on in fear whilst Hunter, Stone and the remaining few men stood poised to retaliate.

            The shuddering of the bushes gradually crept closer to the Green Meadow. Suddenly, something crashed from out of the greenery and collapsed on the ground. It looked injured but was trying to scurry away the best it could.

"It's Chris!!!" Stone said urgently.

"H-H…H-help me!" the man cried terrified whilst trying to crawl towards them. The sergeant started to run towards him.

"Stone! Get back here!" Hunter yelled. Before he could get to him, Stone stopped and saw something leap out from behind its cover. Pouncing on the injured man, a raptor promptly dug its claws into his back and seized him by his neck. Screaming as blood gushed from his wounds, the raptor whipped his head around at an awkward angle making it crack sickeningly before letting him fall limply to the ground.

"CHRRRIIIISSSSS!!!" Stone screamed in anguish seeing his comrade lying lifeless on the grass, blood flooded the area as the raptor then roared into the air. Charging mindlessly towards his friend's killer, Stone was about to open fire when the surrounding bushes shook and more raptors emerged. Horrified, Stone stood helplessly as the raptors headed for him as their first target.

"Crap! It's an ambush!" Hunter cried. Waving his arm over his head, the Red Phoenix team charged shouting warcries. Stone frantically fiddled with his rifle as they raptors approached. Just as he was ready to fire, one raptor leapt on top of him. His captor launched its teeth at his neck but he held his gun in front of its jaws. With its mouth clamped around his weapon, Stone tussled with the carnivore trying to throw it off but the beast was much stronger than he imagined as he felt his arms starting to give under the incredible force of the raptor's head. Sweating profusely, Stone suddenly saw the raptor over him get tackled, whipping it from sight. Relieved, Stone rolled over to see his faithful dog Zephyr was viciously tearing at the raptor's neck, trying to defend his master. Once Zephyr's victim stopped squirming and collapsed dead, he returned to the sergeant, slightly limping, as they returned to the fray. Hunter and his men fought bravely against the raptors. With their heavy-duty rifles, they tore through their enemies but with their unmatchable agility, a number of men fell victim to the jaws of massive army of carnivorous killers whilst the remaining dinosaurs looked on in awe.

"C-c'mon! We've…got to get out of here!" Jason cried struggling with his bleeding shoulder. Grandpa Longneck picked Jason up and placed him on his back as the rest of the leaf-eaters ran for cover in the next field. 

Chapter 40: The Green Meadow Melee 

            By now, most of the dinosaurs had fled for their lives in fear of being hit by the humans or being a meal to the numerous raptors that were attacking relentlessly. The gang and their relatives had made their way into the next clearing and stopped to listen to the chaos that was erupting on the other side of the trees.

"What are we going to do?!" Littlefoot cried in desperation.

"They should have run when they had the chance!" Cera scorned anxiously.

"They can't break away from the raptors or they'll just follow them," Jason stated as his arm gave another uncomfortable twinge.

"There so many sharpteeth! Those humans can no fight all of them!" Petrie exclaimed.

"Petrie's right! They're gonna get slaughtered out there!" Jason said worryingly.

"Grandpa! Can't we do something?" Littlefoot complained looking up at his grandfather.

"Children! Stand behind us!" Grandpa Longneck ordered, "We are going to have to help the humans."

"Count me in!" Cera's father bellowed circling the gang as did a number of other dinosaurs who chose to remained close to the battle.

"NO! You can't! Bullets are flying everywhere! You'll be killed!" Jason warned.

"Your kind has chosen to fight for us Jason. Despite this valiant gesture, this is our home. We MUST protect it!" Grandpa Longneck said boldly raising his head high.

"YES! Those sharpteeth are going to regret ever stepping into our Valley!" Cera's father called courageously.

"But…you…you can't! You could get caught in the cross fire! Doesn't the fact that death could come for you at any second matter to you?! It's suicide!" Jason pleaded. He flinched again as the torn muscles in his shoulder ached.

"It is a sacrifice worth making my son. For our Valley's future…anything and everything else can be set aside," he replied nobly. Jason sighed defeated as he watched the elders disappear to join the battle.

            Jason stamped his feet childish and kicked the dirt up from the ground which made the pain of his gaping wound surge through him almost unbearably.

"Damn them! Why go through with this? The Red Phoenix firm have made a mess of everything yet again!" Jason cursed as he massaged his smarting shoulder.

"Hey, calm down Jason! The grown-ups are going to help," Littlefoot said cowering slightly as he watched Jason throwing a tantrum.

"That's precisely the God damn problem! Because of those prats, your homeland is under attack and the adults could die from stray fire! Aaarrggghhhhh!!! Damn them to hell!!!"

"Whoa Jason! Chill out! If the adults chose to fight, there's nothing you can do," Cera yelled trying to overpower him.

"Don't you get it?! They are going to die out there! How can you guys be so calm?" he continued to whine. No one wanted to confront Jason as he paced up and down agitatedly. Only Cera had to be held back before a fight broke out between the two of them. Everything was deathly quiet as Jason continued to walk back and forth so much that he had started to wear away the grass.

"Oooooohhh! I can't take this anymore! We gotta do something!" Jason said finally frightening everyone within close proximity.

"What! What are you talking about?" Ali cried alarmed.

"I'm going back in there!" he shouted disobediently.

"What! No! You can't!" Littlefoot replied shocked.

"Yeah. You're the one who said you could be kill out there so why should you be able to go and no one else?" Cera said probingly with a sinister smirk. She had been waiting to provoke him ever since the clearing fell silent.

"No start Cera!" Petrie warned landing on her horn and pointing at her face. Already taking offence, Jason frowned and inhaled deeply.

"This should have nothing to do with you guys. Us humans created this mess so we should be the ones to clean it up. It's not fair you lot got dragged into this," Jason said angrily, "dammit! To hell if I'm gonna stand here and just be a spectator in this! I've got to…"

"Shhh!…Listen…the fighting's stopped," Ali gasped interrupting him. The commotion on the other side of the thicket had suddenly stopped. There was no gunfire and no more roars could be heard.

"What happened?" Petrie cawed in awe.

"Is it over? Have the all sharpteeth been defeated?" Ducky asked softly staring through the trees. Without wasting another moment, Jason sped off into the trees.

"Wha…? Jason! Wait!" Littlefoot called after him having just seen him out of the corner of his eye.

            Jason tore through the thicket desperate to reach the other side. With the fighting stopping so suddenly, he didn't know what to expect. As he cleared the last bush, he looked, horrified, at the sight he saw. Numerous bodies of men and raptors lay sprawled all over the meadow covered in either bullet wounds or fatal bite marks and removed limbs. Even some bodies of the massive leaf-eaters lay unmoving on the battlefield. Just across from him, Jason could see Hunter, Stone, Zephyr and two remaining men standing with rifles stashed to one side; they were obviously out of ammo. They were holding glowing, luminous blades that resembled machetes which he instantly recognised as Laser Blades. Towering over them from behind, Grandpa Longneck was knelt down injured as was Mr. Threehorn and a few others. In front, stood a few raptors that had obviously survived the fire-fight. It appeared to be a stand off with the raptors opposite the remaining humans and leaf-eaters. Jason looked from his perch behind a low shrub as he tried to see what was wrong with his adopted grandfather who seemed completely incapacitated. Straining to see his injuries, he saw a number of large slash marks on his legs as well as a few weeping holes that trickled blood. Just as he was about to move, Jason was bumped from behind. Yelping a little, he turned to find Littlefoot right up against his nose with the rest of the gang coming through the last row of trees.

"Littlefoot! What the…!" Jason called.

"Shhhh! We came to see how everything was. So what's happening?" he replied.

"Looks like a stand-off! Look if you dare…it's not a pretty sight…" Jason said pointing out into the field. As the rest of the gang approached and stared out into the battleground, they gasped at the terrible sight of bodies lying unresponsive on the floor.

"It's dreadful…" Ali sighed appalled.

"There's daddy! And he's hurt!" Cera cried on seeing her father on his knees.

"Shhhhhh! Keep it down Cera! You wanna get caught?" Jason hissed.

"And Grandpa! He's injured too!" Littlefoot exclaimed. Without warning, both he and Cera launched themselves into the clearing.

"Littlefoot! Cera! Wait a sec!" Jason shouted after them. Ignoring him as he had done to them before, Littlefoot and Cera sprinted across the field to be beside their fallen parents.

            Calling out to their folks, Littlefoot and Cera drew the attention of both the humans and the raptors. As their eyes locked with the raptors, they skidded to a halt, quickly wishing they hadn't been so hasty. Grandpa Longneck looked at them fearfully as the raptors shot off towards them.

"Littlefoot! Cera! What the hell are you doing? Have you lost your minds?!" Jason shouted as he approached them.

"What were you doing?" Petrie said sternly. He then looked up and saw the raptors sprinting straight at them.

"Sharpteeth!" Ducky wailed as Spike screeched to halt but rammed into Ali.

"Oh crap! They're heading for right us!" Jason cried starting to run.

"Run for it!!!" Cera screamed following him but the raptors surrounded them before they could get very far. The raptors circled the gang all hissing menacingly. They all huddled in the centre fearing when they would strike. Suddenly, from behind, there was a warcry as Stone made a desperate attack with his incandescent blade. Reacting to his surprise attack, one raptor swung its tail around catching him in the face, knocking him backwards where he felt unconscious from the impact and sheer exhaustion.

"This looks bad guys! Any ideas?" Ali said cringing as the raptors continued to circle them.

"Don't even consider looking at me," Jason said edgily.

"This cannot be happening! Oh no, no, no!" Ducky cried.

"There's no way out! We're doomed!" Cera yelled unhelpfully.

"Thanks for the news update!" Jason replied sarcastically.

            Unable to do anything but watch the taunting raptors dance threateningly around the gang, Hunter fell to his knees defeated as Grandpa Longneck tried with all his strength to move but found it was no use. He looked on in horror as the raptors now descended upon them. With nowhere to go, the gang hugged each other in the centre all quivering with fear. They shut their eyes awaiting their fate when a low whistling sounded over the meadow followed by large explosion that erupted on one side of the circle sending everyone in its vicinity flying and sprawling in all directions. Quickly jumping to their feet, Jason, Littlefoot and everyone else snapped around to look in the direction in which the projectile travelled from. Amazed yet completely speechless, they saw a figure standing with a hefty looking grenade launcher giving them cover fire. Towering behind it was a long, multi-barrelled, cylindrical object.

"Who's that?" Cera cried as another explosion erupted next to them throwing dirt into the air as well as a few raptors. Ducky then gasped as she recognised the figure with a flat, black hat cocked to one side.

"Is that?…IT IS! Lookie everybody! It is Jill!" she chirped happily dancing on top of Spike.

"Jill? She's alive?" Ali asked looking in her direction thunderstruck. Jill, looking very beat-up, walked slowly towards them as the raptors regrouped and prepared to attack. Before they got a chance to move, Jill fired her final grenade which detonated dangerously close to the seven of them. The blast threw them backwards, slightly scathed but relatively unharmed. Some of the raptors who remained unphased by her last counterattack began running towards her. Motionless, Jill stood boldly as she watched the raptors charge straight for her.

"Jill! Look out!" Jason yelled to her but she was ready for them. Pulling down the long cylinder strapped to her back, she perched a monstrous looking rocket launcher on her shoulder and took aim.

"What is that?" Littlefoot exclaimed open-mouthed as the group made their way to their fallen parents and the remaining members of Hunter's squad.

"Oh my God! That's the K-27 multi functional rocket launcher! Its street name was the R.Y.N.O! That's a black-listed weapon! How'd you get one of those killing machines!" Jason said astounded.

"Being the biggest company that the human world has ever seen for so many years you honestly think its very own military can't get hold of a few illegal toys?" one man said playfully making him snigger. Returning his gaze to Jill who stood primed to fire. She waited for the ideal time as she wanted to get all of them at the same time. Eyes wide with trepidation, the gang watched as the raptors got closer and closer but Jill had not yet fired.  

            Finally, Jill saw her moment as the raptors all huddled together and came close enough to pounce. She pulled the trigger but something clicked and nothing happened. Panic-stricken, Jill looked up at the rocket launcher and tapped the keys on its control panel. Just as she readjusted the massive weapon to fire, a raptor leapt into the air and tried to land on her. Dropping the launcher, she instantly rolled away as the others followed suit. From her position, she pulled a small, grenade from her pocket and pulled the pin. The raptors righted themselves and charged again. Jill threw the grenade at their feet as it exploded on impact causing a massive swirl of white energy to burst from its casing and engulfed the raptors. Squealing and roaring in agony, they twisted and wriggled in their suspended prison. Jill quickly ran to the R.Y.N.O and tapped the console again. The computer blipped audibly and she pulled the trigger. The entire field seemed to grow dark as a light beam formed at the turret's exit. In a split second reaction, a white beam shot from rocket launcher striking the raptors causing their muscles to freeze swiftly followed by a large rocket that tore through the air and crackled with stray electricity. Jason and the dinosaurs gaped in awe as the crackling rocket struck the imprisoned raptors that remained floating in mid-air. The electricity snapped and sizzled over them as they all screamed in pain before a ball of light started to engulf them. Simultaneous to the ball growing, the entire sky seemed to be growing darker as if the sun's rays of light were being absorbed into the ball of highly focused, destructive energy.

"What's going on?" Cera screeched as the ball of light grew bigger and bigger.

"Oh my God! It's going to…! Hit the deck!!!" Jason screamed as the ball looked on the verge of bursting. Everyone dove to the ground as the ball of light was sucked in and then exploded with extraordinary power. The shockwave from the blast shook the trees, rattling them and forcing them to arch over dangerously close to toppling. As the forceful wind stopped, everybody slowly removed their hands and feet from their heads and slowly looked up to find that the imprisoned raptors had disappeared. They had been completely eradicated.

            As the light from the sun slowly returned to the Green Meadow, Jason looked up to find Jill standing, completely unscathed from the blast, exactly where she was before she fired the awesome rocket.

"Wow!" Petrie gasped with wide eyes.

"Boy! That was amazing!" Ali said gobsmacked.

"Unbelievable…such incredible power…" Littlefoot said slowly. Something at the back of his mind was trying desperately to cry out to him but he couldn't think what it was. Hunter turned to scan the entire meadow. More Great Valley inhabitants were starting to emerge from the bushes to investigate the sudden explosions. Jason, on the other hand, was already making his way to greet Jill. He was a little alarmed to see her staggering around very unstable. Picking up on him heading for Jill, Littlefoot and the others promptly followed.

"Jill…Jill!" he called out to her from across the field running a little awkwardly with his disabled arm that was slowly regaining its strength. Jill turned to him as he stopped in front of her panting.

"Jill that was amazing! You were unreal! You…" Jason started but stopped as Jill suddenly started wavering as if she had been drugged.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked nervously as the rest of the gang pulled up.

I…I…" Jill stammered. Jason looked at her face which looked unnaturally pale.

"Jill?!" Ducky asked also picking up on her unstable stance. Without warning, Ali gave a squeamish yelp of horror, her gaze was fixed on something. Following her eyes, Jason gasped once his view connected with what Ali had seen. A great bloody slash was drawn across Jill's abdomen. The vast wound was bleeding profusely as she gingerly held her hand on it but flinched as she applied pressure. Jason then flicked his eyes back up to her face extremely worried. Jill smiled before dropping to her knees unable to remain on her feet. Jason quickly thrust his good arm under her to catch her before she hit the ground. He scanned over her as the blood continued to flow over her hands, staining her fingerless gloves.

"Oh man! This is bad! C'mon Jill…we've got to get you patched up…" Jason said hurryingly.

"No…no…it's too late for me…" Jill sighed. She could feel her consciousness slowly slipping away with every word she spoke.

"Wh-what are you talking about Jill? C'mon! We got to get you to the professor…he'll sort you out…" Jason said desperately trying to get her to stand.

"Jason…leave me…I've…I've done my duty…I…no longer wish…to participate…in this…anymore. I…I know what they want…they want nothing…but to seek out…unmatchable power and strength…and they'll stop at nothing…to get it…and fulfil their…greedy ambition…"

"Jill…what are you saying? I-I don't understand…" Jason said as Littlefoot and the others crept closer.

"Are you alright Jill? What is the matter?" Ducky asked sweetly making Jill smiled through her pain.

"I-I…I saw you…and Littlefoot…in a dream. Both of you………your………sacred essences…one of heart…and the other…of tears. A warrior…and a guardian…I understood…the riddle behind it. I finally…understand…the legend is true. That's why I…was selected…for the team…not because of my skills…it was something else…the stone…that's all they wanted…the selfish buggers…" Jill coughed sickeningly.

"Take it easy Jill," Ali said slowly.

"Yeah, save your strength," Cera added looking down on her sorrowfully,

"It doesn't matter now…my ill-fated days…fighting with my…conscience are…finally over."

"Don't say that Jill. You're good, you're not like the rest of those black-hearted monsters. You're not one of them," Jason said. He could feel her body becoming heavier as she relied on him to keep her elevated.

"Jason's right. You saved us Jill, you're a hero," Littlefoot said mournfully.

"Thanks Littlefoot, but I'm…no hero. I'm the one…who cause all this…crap in the…first place. This is all…all my fault…I'm…I'm sorry…"

"No! No blame yourself Jill. You no know about the Great Wall, it no your fault," Petrie said trying to make her feel better. Jill smiled but then cringed and fidgeted in pain.

"Jill?" Jason called worryingly.

"Well…this is it…after avoiding death…for this long…it…it finally…caught…up with me. Time to end it…finally…I am finished…"

"No Jill! Keep your eyes open!"

"…I…I…" she gasped. Suddenly Hunter rushed over.

"Lieutenant Fielding! God damn it girl look at me! Stay with me! DO YOU HEAR ME!?! That is an order Lieutenant!" he yelled at her.

"Sir…permission…to be…relieved…of duty…" she said breathlessly but kept smiling.

"I'm afraid that's a nugatory my fine lieutenant. You stay with us here. You're not going anywhere. Understand me?" the captain said. He then saw Jill's eyes becoming increasingly unfocused as she stared at the blue sky.

"…I…I can…see…my…fa-family………again……………" Jill managed to force the words out before sighing heavily.

"Jill?…Jill!" Jason said shaking her limp body.

"C'mon Jill wake up!" Littlefoot called to her. She remained motionless.

"Jill!…JJJJJiiiiiiiiilllllllll!!!!!!"


	12. Part 10: Horrors of the Aftermath

Chapter 41: With Every Legend There is a Story to Tell 

            Two days had passed. The news of the epic battle between the Valley's protectors and the raptors spread like wild fire. The only remaining survivors of the Red Phoenix Squadron who fought alongside the dinosaurs had been Hunter, Stone (and Zephyr) and the two other soldiers who were in the stand off. Jill's team who were up by the Great Wall had been destroyed leaving her as the sole survivor but her wounds left her gravely injured as she lay, unresponsive, on hospital bed back at the complex in the Forest of Fear constantly being monitored by Professor Baxter. Back in the Great Valley, Jason was trying his best to redress Grandpa Longneck's slash wounds having seen to other casualties of the vicious fray that had taken place.

"Is that okay Grandpa? That's the best I could get it," Jason said finally sliding down off his grandfather's tail having been using it as a levitating platform.

"It's fine Jason, thank you," the mighty longneck said with a warm smile, "it's a little difficult to move though."

"Bear with it Grandpa. The bandages will have to stay in place for a little while but once the gashes start to heal, they'll fall off. They've got a digitised programme that automatically scans the extend of the damage using nano-technology woven into the fibres. So once they've done their job, they'll fall off and disintegrate."

"I'm not entirely sure what that means son, but I'll take it as a good thing," Grandpa Longneck chuckled.

"One of Red Phoenix's better products. Sergeant Stone gave me these bandages to replace my old ordinary ones; they're much better and increase the rate of tissue reformation by twenty percent," Jason beamed. He returned to his medical kit where the rest of the gang were poking and prodding his equipment again.

"What are you guys up to? Messing around with my stuff again?" Jason laughed shaking his head. The gang stood upright trying to look innocent.

"Sorry. We just having a look that all," Petrie said grinning.

"Don't worry about it," he replied sniggering at the stupid look on his face. He picked up the small, metal case and began rummaging around in it.

"Oh no. Just great!" Jason puffed dropping the kit, spilling the contents on the soft grass.

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked carrying over another instrument in his mouth.

"I'm all out of nano-tech bandages. I need to replace this one on my shoulder coz it's soaked. Geez, I'm lucky I'm not dying of blood loss from this wound," he complained removing the blood-soaked bandage from his arm that had already started to fall off. The gang cringed at the sight of it as Jason unravelled it and held it up. Stuffing it back into his metal case, Jason looked around at the Green Meadow that was restored to it normal, peaceful outlook; almost like the battle had never taken place at all. All the bodies had been removed from the fields by Red Phoenix personnel and carried to their base to be incinerated. It had all been done so quickly. The larger dinosaurs that had perished defending their home had been carried away on heavy-duty, machine-operated hover-stretchers since they were far too big to be moved manually. Much to the dismay of the deceased's families, through a little counselling and persuasion from Jason, they agreed to let the humans take charge in cremating them. As these thoughts and memories processed, Jason felt his shoulder give another uncomfortable twitch.

"Jason? What's the matter? Is your arm hurting again?" Ali asked as Jason clutched his wound.

"Y-yeah…I need to get it patched up or it will never heal," he said as the pain quickly increased.

"But you said you were out of those long, white, healing stripy things. What are you going to do?" Ducky said concerned.

"I…I might go see Professor Baxter at the Red Phoenix base. He should have a few spares."

"What? You're going to go to that place under your own free will! Are you crazy?" Cera snorted.

"I don't think Jason has a choice Cera. He said that he would but that human in white can help Jason get better," Littlefoot said.

"Besides, maybe we can see how Jill's doing. I mean, we don't have to worry about anymore sharpteeth entering the Valley now that Hunter's men put up that laser grid where the hole in the Great Wall is," Jason said happily but quickly winced again at the pain.

"But how will we get in?" Ali asked getting a little excited.

"That I…huh?" Jason said suddenly. Something was making a high-pitched buzzing noise directly in his left ear.

"What up?" Petrie said slightly confused at Jason's frantic searching.

"Can't you guys hear that?" he said looking around for the source.

"I can't hear anything. What are you talking about?" Cera said mockingly.

"That noise? Can't you hear it?"

"No Jason. We can't hear anything? I think it's just you. You feeling okay?" Littlefoot said eyeing him suspiciously.

"Just me? Oh, of course…Duh! The Frequency Amplifier!" Jason said tapping the side of his head.

"The who-ie what-ie?" Cera said dumbly.

"This little gizmo. The professor's trying to contact me. Speak of the devil, here's me saying I need more bandages and he instantly calls me," Jason said excitedly.

"Okay, let's go then," Littlefoot said with a playful spring in his step. With joyful cheers, the gang charged off towards the Forest of Fear. Only Cera felt a little apprehensive about going at first, but she swiftly followed suit.

            Having jogged merrily across the Grazing Pasture, the gang soon found themselves at the entrance to the Forest of Fear where they all jumped in without a care as if the superstitious rumours of it being haunted never existed. Following the path of fallen trees, they stopped on the final row of trees before the cold, stone grey, complex that sat illuminated by the golden sunlight. Through the wire fence, they could see a guard sat on a crate. He appeared to be motionless.

"Is that human asleep or what?" Petrie asked dropping onto Cera.

"I dunno. He's not moving. Could he be dead?" Littlefoot suggested.

"What should we do?" Ducky said nervously.

"It shouldn't be a problem right? Professor Baxter has summoned me so what's the big deal?" Jason said dismissively.

"Fine. If you wanna just walk right over there and get slaughtered that's you're choice," Cera grunted defiantly.

"Knock it off Cera! Jason's right. If he has been called then what could go wrong?" Littlefoot retorted.

"It's not Jason I'm worried about. It's us!" she barked back.

"Hmm…I hate to say it but she may have a point there. You guys wait here, just in case," Jason said stepping out into the clearing. Laying low, the dinosaurs watched Jason creep closer to the front gate of the base. Once he was there, he cleared his throat to attract the guard's attention. He didn't respond.

"Hey…wake up!" Jason called to him. Still no response. Jason turned to the gang and shrugged. The gang came out of hiding and walked over to him.

"Now what?" Cera said blandly.

"The hole at the back! Think it's still there?" Littlefoot suggested.

"Maybe. Let's have a look," Jason said. Shuffling their feet through the leaf litter, they made their way to the rear of the complex were, sure enough, the hole in the fence was still there. Waving them through, the gang squeezed through one by one and wandered around to the front where the guard remained completely inert. Leaning over to him, Jason was about to check for any signs of life when the man suddenly jumped up. Totally freaked, the gang screamed and all toppled backwards into the wire fence in a heap.

"Who are you?" the guard shouted point his rifle at them.

"Whoa! Slow down. Geez, you scared the hell out of us!" Jason choked pushing himself up off of Ali's head that was tied around Littlefoot's. Petrie yelped and took flight having just sat on Cera's horn.

"We're here to see Professor Baxter. He contacted me not too long ago on my Frequency Amplifier and…"

"Oh, you're the kid. Okay go on in," the guard yawned.

"Okay…erm…thanks," Jason said raising one eyebrow perplexed. As the guard returned to his post, Jason opened the door and the gang walked nervously inside.

            Besides Littlefoot and Jason who had seen the base a few times before, Cera, Ali, Ducky, Petrie and Spike all eyed the marbled walls and floors in awe.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Ali said beaming.

"This is what the humans live in? It is so big!" Ducky said.

"Why's the ground so cold and hard? And why does is there a talk-back when you walk?" Cera asked following the swirling patterns etched into the floor and listening to everyone's footsteps reverberating off the walls. Jason just smiled as they turned a corner. Before long, they came to a viewing window where the gang stopped to admire what the scientists were doing. They appeared to be preparing something but the scurrying of them all made it difficult to see exactly what they were working on. All that could be made out was a large amount of silvery, capsule-like pods and a number of syringes lay dotted around on the work surfaces. Littlefoot, who was trying to get a closer look, accidentally bumped his head on the window, not realising that a pane of glass was in place. The scientists all snapped around and looked at them. Sensing every single pair of eyes on them, the gang quickly shot past the window before they got into trouble.

            As they tore around the next corner, they all suddenly crashed into someone, sending sheets of paper into the air.

"What in the world?! What's this?" the man mumbled getting to his feet and dusted himself off whilst his paperwork drifted softy to the ground like large, noisy snowflakes.

"Professor? Oh sorry! We were just erm…" Jason stuttered handing him his glasses.

"Ah Jason, I see you've finally arrived. Certainly took your time," the professor said straightening his rectangular spectacles, "Oh. More friends of yours, my boy?"

"Oh err yeah. These are the rest of the gang," Jason said uneasily introducing them all in turn.

"Well, nice to meet you all. You're all quite remarkable! Anyway, enough idle chit-chat, Jason I need you and Littlefoot to accompany me to my lab. I have things I want to tell you."

"Hey, what about the rest of us?" Cera said bitterly.

"Can't they come too sir?" Littlefoot asked a little more politely.

"Very well, this way children," he nodded before leading the way.

            Upon reaching Professor Baxter's laboratory, the door opened and the gang, more curious than ever, wandered in trying to take in every minor detail of the room but resisting the urge to touch. The professor went over to his computer to access some information he required. Jason sat up on the work surface and the dinosaurs all found a space on the floor.

"Right, first things first," Professor Baxter said turning to Jason, "would you please sit up on the examination table so I can take a look at your shoulder."

"Huh? How'd you know about my shoulder?" Jason asked jumping down from his seat and up onto the black table in the centre of the room.

"…The sergeant…told me about it…" the professor said a little uneasily. Thinking nothing of it, Jason allowed him to examine his claw wound that hadn't been healing very well.

"What that thing?" Petrie croaked as the professor pulled a needle out of Jason's arm just below his gaping wound.

"This is a coagulation serum. It will help the platelets in your blood to close up the wound and help it heal," he stated as he handed Jason a roll of nano-tech bandages. All the dinosaurs looked at each other dumbfounded.

"You should have come to see me about that sooner Jason. That wound appears to be pretty deep and you've lost a lot of blood according to the tissue analysis," Professor Baxter scorned.

"Yeah I know, but I'll live," Jason said facetiously exercising his shoulder joint. Tossing the roll of bandage on the side, Jason turned to Professor Baxter who was tapping away at his keyboard again.

"So, what's this thing you wanted to talk to us about?" he said talking to the professor's back.

"Oh yes, about that. Jason, do you remember anything about your mother's latest project?"

"You mean the perpetual energy source? I know bits and pieces about it, not a vast amount. Why?"

"We have reason to believe that that source we've been searching for is actually attainable. We didn't think so at first but we soon discovered that all we need a bit more information and a few more key components."

"What do you mean? You were the head of the project so why are you asking me?"

"I know that, but your mother was in charge of the expedition to the Andes was she not? Thanks to her we uncovered most of the artefacts that we have used and analysed over the past few years."

"Yeah so. What's your point?"

"My point is that some artefacts appear to be missing. Look here." The professor turned back to his computer and brought up a screenshot of an ancient manuscript on aged reed parchment that Jason recognised as the first artefact his mother discovered high in the South American mountains.

"That's the Parchment of Essence. My mother told me about that. Did you finish the translation?"

"Ninety percent through it but I have managed to decipher enough of the ancient text for it to make sense. Look here, I'll bring up the research notes…" Professor Baxter then brought up a small dialogue box that showed the information that his team was able to decode. Jason hopped down of the examination table to get a closer look. The little, huddled congregation of dinosaurs who were sat on the cold, marble floor all stood up to reanimate their frozen limbs and poked their noses in whatever space they could squeeze into.

"What're all those funny black things?" Ali asked referring to the letters as Jason scanned through the text.

"This is the translation of the parchment I showed you earlier. They are…" the professor started.

"Erm um…Professor? They're dinosaurs remember? They won't get what you're on about," Jason said clearing his throat audibly and nodding in their direction for him to read the dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"Oh yes. Quite! Erm…Anyway, the parchment clearly states that a great power was found in one of the temples deep in the mountains. The exact date of this piece is unknown but we are sure that it was undoubtedly before the Aztecs and Incas. We believe that it may have even been before the supposed Ancient Mayan civilisation that disappeared many centuries ago. According to the legend, that power was sealed into three enchanted stones that each share a special quality."

"What kind of special quality?" Littlefoot asked flicking between Jason, the professor and the computer.

"An Essence of Life…" Jason said reading the text from the box on screen, "Each stone has absorbed and retained a particular essence of being that has been come to be known as an 'Essence of Life'. By harnessing the power bestowed upon these sacred artefacts, the bearer can use and convert it into a tangible force that can be used as he or she sees fit."

"So what does all that mean?" Ducky said hopping from Spike up to the workbench to stick her head in front of the screen.

"What it means, my dear, is that the power that these stones hold can be extracted and manipulated by a person. With it, that person can release the potential energy and thus produce what we would undoubtedly recognise as perpetual energy," Professor Baxter announced excitedly.

"I still don't geddit…" Cera said screwing up her face in confusion.

"I doubt you would get it even if it was explained; it's a human affair but I'll tell you anyway. The basic idea of going through all this trouble of obtaining this limitless energy source was so that we could put an end to things like air pollution created by the combustion of fossil fuels and dumping nuclear and toxic waste that poisons the planet so that our world could run on clean, efficient energy source that can be used and replenished without fears of it ever depleting," Jason said.

"Right, my boy. It's over a trillion times more efficient and effective than any other renewable resource our kind has ever discovered. Solar, thermal, wind energy; all of them will be made obsolete as well as achieving our goal of finding a suitable substitute for our race's over-consumption of energy."

"So, humans need energy to survive and these stones have the ability to produce that energy you need, right?" Ali said.

"Exactly my dear! If we can get hold of this source, energy consumption and depletion will be a thing of the past!" the professor exclaimed, greatly impressed by Ali's understanding.

"But wait. There's still more to the translation. According to this, once all three stones are put together it is possible to…huh? The page ends there," Jason said in surprise.

"Yes, that is as far as we've got with the translation. We are still trying to decipher the rest," the professor admitted.

"But the sentence isn't complete. It looks more like this section of the translation has been removed," Jason said greatly puzzled.

"Yes…well…erm…I think that there must be some sort of fault with the system. I'll see to it that it's fixed."

"I can fix it for you. I'm good with computers," Jason offered.

"NO! That…won't be necessary thank you! N-now! That's all I need you to see, you're all free to go now," Professor Baxter said hurryingly as if he wanted to get rid of them.

"But wait! Can't we at least see Jill first? We came here to see how she was," Cera complained. Everyone else nodded in verification.

"Yes, yes! Very well! Here, take this clearance card and the guard will let you in. She is in the Recovery Wing. Just take this corridor down as far as it goes and she'll be on the right-hand side," the old man puffed handing Jason a small, transparent I.D card with his picture on it and various other data.

"Okay, thanks professor," Jason said as the gang started for the door.

"Oh and by the way. Please don't disturb any of the other casualties. They are under strict observation and must remain in solitary confinement," he warned as Jason opened the door to let everyone through.

"It's alright professor, I know the drill. You seem really uptight…are you feeling okay?" Jason asked as Spike followed Cera out into the corridor.

"Yes, yes I'm fine! Now, go visit Jill, I'm sure she'd be glad to see you," he replied mopping his brow with a handkerchief. Still a little uncertain, Jason shut the door and turned to lead the way down to Jill's dormitory.

            On their way down to visit Jill, the gang continued to eye all the walls and rooms stupefied. They all found it hard to believe that this is where humans lived in comparison to their homes of open fields and grazing meadows. Jason pretended he wasn't paying attention to their expressions of awe but he smiled at them as he read one face to the next out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't long before they reached the Recovery Wing that Professor Baxter had described and they looked down the long corridor of doors that were positioned directly opposite each other. The corridor was deathly silent and eerie as they walked past the doorways, gazing up at the symbols on each of them.

"This place creepy," Petrie shuddered as he perched on Jason shoulder.

"Is this where Jill is?" Ali asked nervously.

"Apparently, that's what Professor Baxter said," Littlefoot replied a little apprehensively.

"What are those strange, curvy, shiny things up there?" Ducky asked pointing at the metal symbols on the doors.

"I'm not sure. They appear to be Ancient Greek letters," Jason said taking a close look.

"What do they say?" Cera asked.

"I'm…I dunno. I was never very good at ancient history; especially the Greeks. I…I think this one says 'Kappa-Delta 64'. Don't know what that means," he said shaking his head after reading the symbols. Jason cautiously tried to pull the handle but the door didn't budge.

            Suddenly, there was a bellowing from the far end of the corridor.

"Hey! What are you doing there?" The group flinched in shock and were about to turn tail and run when a burly looking man approached them. Everyone hid behind Jason expecting him to take charge.

"Erm…it's okay. We're here to see Lieutenant Jill Fielding; we're friends of hers," Jason said smiling weakly.

"What? This ain't no old folks' home! Get lost kid and take your dino pals with ya!" he barked poking his rifle into Jason's chest with bulging eyes.

"It's okay, we have security clearance from Professor Baxter. Here's his I.D card," Jason said innocently pushing the rifle from off his sternum and handing the guard the plastic card. With a quick look over the information on the I.D card, the guard eyed Jason and the cowering dinosaurs and handed it back to him.

"All right you're clear but I'm watching you so don't try anything funny, got it?" he said glowering menacingly at them.

"Erm…okay. Thank you…bye now!" Jason said fearfully before slipping past him with the rest of the gang closely behind.

            With their encounter with the overprotective guard safely behind them, the gang walked a little further on and found a door half open with a clipboard hanging from a peg nailed into the doorframe. Unlike the other doors, there was no symbol on it and it wasn't sealed shut.

"Is this the one?" Ali asked.

"Yup. Looks like it," Jason said reading the name on the clipboard. Carefully, he pushed the door open a little wider so they could all peer inside. The room was tiny and painted white which looked incredibly meagre and dank compared to the brilliant marbled walls and floors of the corridors. There was no window; only a very small lightbulb hanging from a black cord on the ceiling that barely emitted any light. The gang gasped in horror at the sight of Jill as she lay on a small bed, wired up to a variety of machinery and covered in bandages. Everyone wandered slowly into the room and surrounded her bed listening to the gentle blipping of the electrocardiogram which was the only noise that echoed within the claustrophobic, little dormitory.

"Jill? Are you…?" Ducky started.

"I don't think she can hear you Ducky," Jason said sorrowfully as he picked up a document hanging off the railings at the foot of the bed on a clipboard.

"She isn't…dead…is she?" Ali asked regrettably.

"No. According to this report, she's in a state of comatosis," he replied softly.

"What that mean?" Petrie said slowly as he followed Jason to Jill's ECG.

"She's sleeping if you like. Her vital signs appear to be stable but this page says that they are unsure when she will wake up."

"So, there is a possibility that she may never wake up?" Littlefoot asked gravely.

"I'm afraid so. They've already operated on her slash wound but she didn't respond fully to the arousal drugs when they finished."

"It's awful!" Cera sighed. The gang fell silent and focused on Jill as she remained completely motionless. Every one of them felt responsible for Jill's injuries as it was her who saved them from the raptors' attack back in the Green Meadow. The moments of her daring rescue replayed to each of them and the gut-wrenching scene of Jill's final words before she passed out in Jason's arms. Despite winning the battle against the raptors that day, everyone felt a tragic loss at the sheer number of lives taken when the first, full-fledged battle of the Green Meadow took place. Indeed, a black day for every resident of the Great Valley.

Chapter 42: A Kidnapping from the Shadows 

            Back in the Great Valley, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck were sat down along with the rest of the gang's parents and a few others. They were deep in discussion about the current affair of the humans and their invasion.

"These humans are much too dangerous to speak to face to face. Doing so could result in the deaths of many more innocent dinosaurs and that's the last thing we need after that fight with those sharpteeth," Mr. Threehorn bellowed.

"I agree with you about the sharpteeth but I don't believe the humans are inapproachable. They did help us fend off the enemy after all. A decision they chose for themselves," Grandpa Longneck said calmly.

"But if it wasn't for them in the first place, those sharpteeth never would have got in," Spike and Ducky's mother said.

"Yes, they were responsible for the destruction of the Great Wall that started all this mess," Petrie's mother added.

"I know it seems that way but the humans still chose to help us. They even took charge in the cleaning up and brought our Valley back to its normal state," Grandma Longneck said defensively.

"I'm not too sure on all this. Because of all these mishaps my herd had missed the ideal time for us to migrate up to the High Hills and now with the possible threat of more sharpteeth attacks, they are all unwilling to leave," Ali's herd leader blurted out in annoyance.

"Yes, and despite wanting to stay here, most of us don't feel safe with the humans roaming your homeland," Ali's mother said.

"I understand your frustration Old One but no one has said you have to stay here. You of all travellers should know that we never keep anyone in the Valley against their will. It is just an unfortunate coincidence that these events have chosen to take place now," Grandma Longneck continued.

"I've always said that it is that human boy, Jason, who brought all this to our Valley. I say he is responsible," Mr. Threehorn snorted.

"Jason has nothing to do with the sharptooth attack! He wasn't even in the area when it happened. If Jason is responsible for anything it is for saving and helping the majority of our kind. He has rescued Littlefoot, your niece and you Threehorn. Even he was scared and confused when those other humans came to take him away," Grandpa Longneck said profoundly.

"I agree, young Jason seems very nice. He has not done anything bad but he just seems to be tied up in the middle of all of this," Petrie's mother said nodding.

"Such is true but why do you defend him so much Longneck? If he were perhaps living with someone else would you have seen him in the same light as you do now?" one parasaurolophus asked from behind. Grandpa Longneck found he could not answer straight away. Neither could Grandma Longneck.

"I…I can't say for sure but our Littlefoot believes that Jason is a truly wonderful creature and he has never been happier that he found him all that time ago. Also, Jason has grown accustom to our way of life very well and without questioning. I don't feel that he is to blame for the actions of the others," Grandpa Longneck said finally.

"Yes, he has looked out for Littlefoot as if he were his brother and they have bonded together very well despite their great differences in appearance. The same goes for Littlefoot. The night that Jason was taken, Littlefoot was deeply hurt. Still, he went off, by himself, and brought Jason back from wherever the humans had taken him. I don't believe they have any intention of separating from each other and Jason seems keen not to return with his kind," Grandma Longneck added expressively.

"But if the humans wish to return to their world, Jason will have to go with them won't he? He couldn't possibly stay here if he has his own home to return to," Ali's leader stated. There was a short silence that gripped the debaters as they awaited the Longneck's reply.

"Well…when that day comes…we will have to see Jason off and then that will be our final goodbye…" Grandma Longneck said softly but firmly.

"Yes, and until that day comes, we will welcome him as a member of our herd, no matter what his appearance or past history," Grandpa Longneck said boldly.

"But for whose sake Longneck? Your own?" Mr. Threehorn said defiantly.

"No…for Littlefoot's sake. And for that of his friends who will undoubtedly miss him too once he is gone…" he stated nobly.

            Meanwhile, back in the Red Phoenix complex, Jason, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali were sat silently around Jill's bed. They all wished that her condition would improve but no one wanted to talk about it. Jason looked around at the mournful expressions on everyone's faces. The sight of seeing Jill wrapped up in blood-soaked bandages with an oxygen mask over her face was extremely distressing and he feared that it may be affecting their mentality as no one could look the other in the eye. They all felt far too guilty for Jill's situation to speak. Without saying a word, Jason got up from his seat and started walking to the door. Everyone watched him as he made his way across the room gazing emptily at the floor. Littlefoot was the first to move as he followed Jason out of the dormitory but gestured to the others to stay where they were once he saw them all rising. Littlefoot poked his head out into the corridor and saw Jason leaning up against the wall on the opposite side to Jill's room.

"What's wrong Jason?" Littlefoot asked softly.

"It's all my fault Littlefoot. All of this, the Chronos Doorway, the Red Phoenix invasion, Jill's coma…all this…because of me. I never meant for this to happen but it happened anyway. Just because I wanted to find out more about why my mother died that day when I sneaked into the lab ruins. If I didn't bother snooping around trying to find answers I knew I couldn't find, none of this would have happened. None of it," he muttered pathetically.

"No Jason…it's not your fault. How were you to know that this would happen? You can't predict the future so don't blame yourself…" Littlefoot said trying to comfort him.

"Maybe it would have been better if those guys back in the ruins shot me dead right there. If they did, no more people would have been injured or killed. But now, I've messed up your world as well as my own."

"That not true Jason," a croaky voice said from behind Littlefoot. Jason looked up and saw Petrie emerge from the doorway followed by the rest of the gang.

"You not a bad human. It no your fault. Me think you a great friend," he cawed perching on his shoulder again.

"Uh huh. Petrie is right Jason. You are not to blame for all this, oh no, no, no! No one can see into the future so you would not know!" Ducky chirped as she hopped onto Spike.

"Yeah, besides, if you hadn't helped us out when we needed it, we may not be standing here right now. You save me from drowning, you rescued Dinah from the Smoking Mountain and you helped Cera's dad get better when he was really ill!" Littlefoot said happily.

"Don't forget saving me from those egg-stealers when I hurt my ankle. Remember that?" Ali added smirking warmly. As everyone nodded in agreement, Spike waddled up to Jason and licked his face.

"Thanks you guys. You really know how to help me out when I need it most," Jason said smiling weakly but meaningfully.

"Hey, that's what friends are for right?" Cera said rather uncharacteristically that made Jason gape in disbelief. With that, his smile strengthened and he raised his head to admire all of them.

"Yeah. That's what friends are for…" he said before herding them all together in a group hug.

"Friends forever?" he asked gently.

"Friends forever…" Littlefoot replied instantaneously.

"Friends forever!" the rest of them chanted. For that brief moment in time, their grievances melted away as they stood wrapped up in each other.

            Once they all broke away and read the smiles on each other's faces, the lights flickered unhealthily.

"What that?" Petrie asked nervously, staring up at the halogen lights that continued to flash on and off repeatedly. Before long, there was a snapping sound of stray electricity and the light then died out completely.

"What now? A powercut?" Jason said in the darkness. Suddenly, a deafening alarm rang out over the complex. Red, revolving lights danced across the marble walls in time with the siren. Completely bewildered, the gang thrashed around frantically before sprinting down the corridor as best they could in the flashing lights.

"What's going on?!" Cera cried in confusion barely distinguishable in the strobe lighting.

"I dunno. This place is going haywire! Let's get outta here!" Jason yelled above the alarm.

            Tearing around the corner, scientists and military personnel were dashing around madly all shouting. Every person in sight was scrambling into the labs as if they were being chased by something. The gang tried desperately to meander their way through the sheer mass of bodies that were running in all directions in a flailing panic.

"Which way to get out of here?" Ali cried over the top of the uproar.

"I think it's this way! C'mon guys, try to keep up!" Jason said. He glanced back to see how those at the rear of the line were coping. Through the gyrating red light, he could make out Littlefoot trying to shove his way through the crowd.

"Littlefoot come on!" he shouted to him bouncing off someone coming right at him.

"I'm coming!" Littlefoot called back but was finding it hard to keep up.

            After passing the last set of labs and the operations room, Jason flew down the last corridor closely followed by the others.

"There! There's the exit! C'mon guys!" he yelled. With the others in hot pursuit, Jason sped on assuming that the others were right behind him. Littlefoot, however, was constantly being pulled further and further back but rampaging men who were running in the opposite direction. He was too puffed-out to call for the others to wait for him but he tried to keep up. Suddenly, Littlefoot lost his footing and fell on his face having tripped on something. When he recovered, he had lost sight of the rest of the gang in amongst all the dashing silhouettes and frantic yelling voices. As he stood being bounced around by the charging humans, Littlefoot, unexpectedly, felt something snatch him from his place and drag him deeper into the complex. In shock, Littlefoot yelped and struggled to get free but something sharp jabbed him in his leg. Flinching at the pain, Littlefoot then felt his legs lose control and he quickly found he couldn't walk anymore. The numbness quickly flooded up his body and he began to feel faint. Within seconds, his world turned black and the blaring alarm could no longer be heard.

            In the mean time, Jason and the rest of the gang had burst through the exit and were all relieved to be out of the chaos that was happening inside.

"Phew! What a rush!" Jason wheezed.

"What was that all about?" Cera said looking around.

"Dunno…we got everyone?" he replied.

"Me, Spike and Ducky here!" Petrie said flapping.

"I'm okay…" Ali said breathing heavily.

"I'm fine," Cera said with her head high.

"That's six…we're one short…Hey! Where's Littlefoot?!" Jason cried urgently.

"What? Did he not make it out?" Ducky asked desperately. Jason fought his way back to the door but members of the lab's military held him back.

"Let me go! Littlefoot's still in there!" he barked trying to shake them off.

"No admittance kid! We have to go through evacuation procedures before anyone is allowed back in!" the guard said blandly.

"Hell to your procedures! Littlefoot's still trapped in there! Let me through!!!" Jason argued but the more he fought, the more resistance the guards held on him.

"Oh! What has happened to Littlefoot?" Ducky cried despairingly.

Chapter 43: Dreams: The Storytellers of the Future 

            "Uuurrrgggghhhh! W-where? Where am I?" Littlefoot gurgled feebly. He felt completely disorientated and his head was throbbing as if he had been hit with something hard. He slowly stood up and looked around. He was in a pitch black room with nothing around him and no noise. Littlefoot searched around for someone or something to tell him where he was. Still with nothing to even give him a clue to where he was, he tried to recall what happened before he woke up. He remembered entering the Red Phoenix complex with Jason and the others and going to see Professor Baxter in his lab. He also remembered going to visit Jill in her room, then running to the exit with everyone once the alarm went off and tripping on something then being grabbed. Littlefoot's mind drew blank after that but with the thought of his friends being somewhere different, he started feel slightly afraid and self-conscious so he decided to try and look for a way out.

            Before he could take his first step, Littlefoot heard a voice come from out of the darkness.

"So, you are finally awake. You took your time but I'm glad to see you are now up," the deep voice said calmly.

"Wha? Wh-who's there?" Littlefoot asked trembling flicking his head around in all direction. He felt incredibly scared that something was watching him but he could see what it was.

"No need to be afraid. I am not here to harm you," the voice continued.

"Wh-wha-what do you want with me?" Littlefoot stammered unconvinced.

"What do you mean? I saved you from being trampled to death when the alarm went off. You should be grateful."

"What? I-I don't understand…who are you?" Littlefoot asked. He suddenly heard something shuffle directly in front of him closely followed by the sound of clapping footsteps approaching him. Shakily, Littlefoot stood his ground to await the arrival of the figure whom the voice belonged to. To his surprise, the footfalls stopped abruptly and silence fell on the dark room once again. Trying to glare through the emptiness, Littlefoot then heard something click. Instantly, the room flashed making Littlefoot jump. Then, the lights slowly grew and the entire area came into view. The room was vast and beautifully decorated with statuettes on pillars, oak bookcases filled with books and manuscripts and painted portraits of wise looking men and women hanging on the red and gold walls each with their own silver plaque underneath. Directly in front of Littlefoot was a sturdy-looking wooden desk with a computer monitor on one side. On the other, resting up against the edge of the desk, stood a man in a black suit, white shirt and a Red Phoenix tie. He looked very neatly trimmed with his arms folded across his front and wearing a smile that looked potent. Littlefoot backed away slightly as he looked into his cold eyes which were locked on to him like a predator sighting prey.

"Hello, Littlefoot isn't it?" the man asked smoothly without budging. Littlefoot found he couldn't speak. The man's stature was so intimidating he felt powerless as he stood, eyes wide with fear, a few metres away from him. He slowly nodded.

"I thought so. You are a dear friend of that human boy, Jason, are you not?" the man continued. Littlefoot was shocked; so far, he hadn't gotten a single fact wrong. Again he nodded, still unable to say anything. The man smiled and chuckled.

"You seem troubled by my appearance Littlefoot but I assure you, you have nothing to fear. Please, I am fully aware that you can talk. Honour me with the melodious sound of your voice…" he said slickly.

"Wh-who are you?" Littlefoot stammered as the words finally passed the tight, nervous lump in his throat.

"I am Dominic Westwood. I am the last surviving director of our world's largest biological and chemical business ever to be established in the industry. I rule all that you have seen in this base but my reign is much greater than just this tiny, little concrete cellar. We have numerous facilities worldwide, stretching from research bases in the depths of the Pacific Ocean to observation centres high the peaks of the Alps," he said explosively. Littlefoot stared at the businessman blankly as all the words he had just described had literally glided straight over his head.

"I see you are blissfully unaware of the size and scale of my company since it doesn't exist here and won't do for approximately sixty-five million years from now," Westwood said sniggering.

"So, you are from the future. Like Jason," Littlefoot said cautiously.

"That's right."

"So you are the leader of your herd? All the humans here follow you?" he asked naively.

"In a manner of speaking; yes I am. I control all the actions of the Red Phoenix Laboratories Corporation now that I am the only remaining director of the company after that unfortunate accident," Westwood said sorrowfully.

"Wh-what unfortunate accident?" Littlefoot asked nervously.

"A viral outbreak of one of our prototypes which destroyed our population. A transportation pod carrying a live sample was attacked by protestors and it overturned spreading the virus."

"That virus…Jason told me about it. He said that it killed all the humans and that hardly anyone was left afterwards. The end of the world of the humans…"

"I see he has informed you on this matter. We were at a great loss but the remaining members of my dedicated team were determined to find a way to reverse this terrible curse we, as a race, have bestowed upon ourselves."

"How? If humans are…dead…how could you fix that?" Littlefoot asked intrigued.

"We have discovered a way. Do you remember how your friend, Jason, got here in the first place?" Westwood asked.

"Y-yes. He came through a funny, blue circle. He found me when I was lost in the forest and he rescued me from a pack of egg-stealers," he replied a little uneasily.

"That blue circle you described is one of our greatest achievement. The Chronos Doorway. It is a machine that is capable of opening a pathway through time and transporting, whatever steps into it, to another specific place in time. Somehow, Jason was able to activate the Doorway even when the console was completely disconnected. That is how Jason was brought here and it also how we came as well thanks to a little of whatever Jason used was still in the console. That is the key to rebuilding our world."

            Littlefoot didn't know what to say next. He had always wondered what Jason's world was like and how he came to the Great Valley but it didn't explain why he was here. As he stood pondering, Westwood spun around from his spot on the desk and sat down in his large leather chair that creaked audibly as he rocked in it.

"I don't suppose you realise the importance of Jason's recent captures and his constant co-operation in this matter; I don't believe he understands the seriousness of the situation either," he said, his hands pressed together with his index fingers resting on his chin.

"What do you mean by that?" Littlefoot asked suddenly snapping out of his thoughts.

"Whilst both you and Jason have been here, my research team have run a series of critical tests on your cellular structure and DNA sequences and found they you both have a special pattern that is capable unlocking the final door to our race's renovation."

"Huh? I'm afraid I don't quite understand. Are you saying that I can help the humans back in your time?!" Littlefoot asked astounded.

"That's right. Your molecular formation has a direct link to a specific energy pattern we have discovered thanks to a manuscript known as "The Parchment of Essences"," Westwood continued.

"That's the thing Professor Baxter showed me with Jason and the others. I didn't quite get everything but I said there was something to do with some special stones absorbing a special quality," Littlefoot said trying hard to rack his brain for the information he was told a little while ago in the professor's lab. He turned back to Westwood who was now fiddling around with his computer.

"Yes. Those stones are said to hold a potential energy source that can be used unlimitedly. With our world in ruins, the Chronos Doorway hold the key to its restoration but the problem is that it consumes more energy than it is humanely possible to supply. The energy stored in those stones can activate the console again so we can return to the point in time where the disaster happened and prevent it."

"I get it. By doing that, the virus won't escape and the humans will be saved!" Littlefoot blurted jovially. Westwood nodded with a smug grin on his face.

"But we still have an obstacle in our way. We know about the stones and their origins but we don't know where they are. If we could possibly locate them, our civilisation can be saved."

"What do they look like?" Littlefoot asked curiously. Something in the back of his mind was constantly being jolted but he couldn't remember what it was. Westwood then waved him over to come and stand next to him. Forgetting his nervousness he had had before, Littlefoot obeyed and wandered over to the desk.

"Look here," Westwood instructed. Littlefoot turned and looked at the computer screen. In amongst all the text and wavering line graphs, his attention was drawn to a spinning, triangular model of a glittering jewel.

"That…that's…" he began.

"That is one of three Stones of Essence. Each with their own special feature, all three have unspeakable energy reserves that can be tapped and used. It is this energy that we need to reactivate the Chronos Doorway." Littlefoot continued to stare at the jewel in awe as flashbacks of his dreams suddenly flooded his mind.

"Each stone has a specific name; each related to a character and their strongest trait of life. This green stone is the "Summoner's Soul Emerald"…this red on is…"

"The "Warrior's Heart Ruby"…and the blue one is the "Guardian's Tear Sapphire"…I know…" Littlefoot said with his eyes fixed on the screen. He appeared to be completely zombified.

"You know of them Littlefoot?" Westwood said cracking a sinister smile behind him.

"Yeah…I've had dreams about them…all those stones and I've met all the others who hold them…" he replied entranced. He couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing.

"…My dreams…they are…real!?!"

"It appears so. You will have to tell me about them but now…let me ask you something to ultimately test your knowledge on these stones…Does the name "Heaven's Eternity Crystal" remind you of anything?" Westwood asked darkly.

"Why…yes! It is the stone that is formed when all three stones are combined into one. Once all three stones are together, they become that yellow stone but…there is something else."

"Oh? What might that be Littlefoot?" Westwood continued sappily.

"There is a trick to bring out its power. It can't just be taken. Something has to be done first…I don't know what it is but that old longneck said so…" Littlefoot replied slowly still in shock.

"Well. You have been most helpful Littlefoot. Now, you could be even more helpful in answering another rather serious question," Westwood said switching off the computer monitor and looking him in the eye, "Do you have one of these three unique stones? It is absolutely imperative that you tell me the truth because our race's future depends on it. Do you or do you not own one of these marvellous stones?" Littlefoot found he couldn't break away from Westwood's icy glare and his words burned his insides. The entire human race's future depends on his answer.

"I…I…" he stuttered.

"Yes…go on!" Westwood urged resting his hands on his shoulders.

"Y-yes. I do. I have the blue stone; the Guardian's Tear Sapphire. It's at home, I keep it in a safe place. I thought it was just a lucky stone so I kept it," Littlefoot said slowly, feeling a little confused by everything.

"Excellent! You may have just saved our kind Littlefoot! You are our saviour! Do you know who the others are?" Westwood asked after laughing loudly with glee.

"Well…my dreams keep telling me that the others are those who I have already met. In one of my dreams, a shadowy figure saved me from being crushed by some black vines and it had a glowing, red stone. A few days later, Jason rescued me from drowning at the Thundering Falls when I got caught in some water plants. He cut me free and the red stone in his pendent looked like it was glowing too. Just like in my dream…could Jason be one of the stone holders?"

"Yes! It is a perfect match! Who could the other owner be?"

"Well, I remember another human with a long stick came and saved me from some evil trees. She had a green stone on her finger with a white swirl in it."

"What happened then Littlefoot? You can tell me…" Westwood said hurryingly.

"She…died…right in front of me. I think one of the trees scratched her and there was a deep wound on her stomach. It…it's kinda like when Jill rescued us from those sharpteeth in the Green Meadow. She had a long stick that she used to destroy them all but…Jill was hurt…really bad. She too had a nasty gash on her front," Littlefoot said slowly. He then suddenly gasped in horror, "Oh no! Does that mean?! If my dreams have been right so far then Jill could…No!"

"So it's Jill Fielding! I never would have thought that all this time I had the final stone owner right under my nose…Anyway Littlefoot you have been most helpful! You can rest assured that you have undoubtedly saved mankind from the cruellest of fates. We can now undo that black patch in our history and continue to live. Thank you so much," Westwood said wetly. Littlefoot was only half listening. He was deeply concerned for Jill's welfare now that he had proclaimed that all his dreams had become real. Westwood returned to his computer and started working on it again. 

Littlefoot slowly moved from his static position and wandered into the centre of the room. The shock of all his dreams coming true was so striking, he couldn't make sense of anything. Nothing seemed real. Sitting down on the cold, marble floor, he looked around at Westwood who was busy tapping away at his keyboard. Swinging his head around, Littlefoot then noticed felt something strange in the air. It wasn't a scent but he could sense something giving off some sort of a signal to him. Looking around for it, he then noticed something sparkle out of the corner of his eye. Up on the large oak bookcase,  Littlefoot could see Jason's pendent on the middle shelf just lying there. With a quick blink, he glanced back at Westwood again but he was still pre-occupied with his computer. Slowly inching forwards, Littlefoot approached the bookcase and gingerly picked up the pendent in his teeth. With one last glance at Westwood, he started for the door.

"Erm…Littlefoot?" he said suddenly. Littlefoot froze solid but didn't face him as he didn't want him to see the pendent in his mouth.

"Y-yesh…" he mumbled.

"I must thank you for your input on all this. Our company and race is indebted to you."

"Erm…you're wheelcoome," he said awkwardly with Jason's ruby in his mouth, "Carn I goo now?"

"Um? Oh yes, yes! Thank you again…I'll open the door for you," he said.

"Err…no, no! I carnn geddit," Littlefoot slurred in a panic fearing he'd come over and see him with Jason's pendent.

"No, no it's quite all right. Here…" Westwood said. Littlefoot clamped his eyes shut fearing he'd spot him. To his amazement, there was a click and the large oak doors opened automatically. Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself staring out into the, once again, lit corridors of the complex. Without another word, he sprinted out of the room and into the maze to be reunited with his friends.

            As the doors shut behind Littlefoot, Westwood smiled deviously at his notes on the screen.

"Thank you my long necked friend. You have just given me the solution to my little dilemma. Indeed you have saved the human race…as you have just appointed it a true ruler over all life. It is only a matter of time before all shall be revealed including my latest creation. Yes…Project Red Phoenix is almost complete…all I need is for the pawns to take their place on the playing board then, the game can begin."


	13. Part 11: Souls in the Wind

Chapter 44: The Wispy Wind's Melody 

            Outside of the complex, Jason, Cera, Ali, Petrie, Spike and Ducky were still waiting for news on what had happened to Littlefoot. Despite his shouting and arguing, Jason was denied access into the base even after all other Red Phoenix personnel were given the all clear. Ali sat calmly next to the wire fence with Ducky and Petrie whereas Cera and Jason were pacing up and down irritably, kicking the leaf-litter in their strides.

"What's taking so long?" Cera said impatiently, "We've been waiting here for ages and we haven't been told a thing!"

"Calm down Cera. I am sure Littlefoot is all right, he probably just got a little lost when that big noise came," Ducky said trying to keep the situation as cool as possible.

"I seriously doubt that," Jason said slowly finally resting against the wall, "All sorts could be happening to Littlefoot in there. I don't trust anyone in that place."

"But we can no get in to find him. Human at front say all we have to do is wait," Petrie protested.

"That's why I say we should just charge in there and demand to see him!" Cera blurted out beginning to paw the ground, throwing the leaves onto Spike who was feasting on the bushes close by trying hard to ignore the acidic taste of the leaves.

"That's your answer to everything. Let's just rampage in there and crack a few skulls shall we? You sound like one of them," Jason snorted indignantly.

"What'd you just say? You want me to show you how I'll do it?! I can practice on you!" Cera grunted standing to charge.

"Just try it!" Jason said arrogantly standing ready to fight.

"Knock it off you two! Is that all you can do is bicker?! What's wrong with you?" Ali exploded uncharacteristically standing up to separate them before they started, "We're all worried about Littlefoot but arguing like infants isn't going to solve anything! We've tried getting inside and we failed so let's just wait a bit longer. No more fighting!" Ali returned to her seat and watched as Cera turned her back snorting and Jason leant back up against the wall with his eyes closed.

            The next few moments passed by silently with no one uttering a word nor moving from their positions. Suddenly, the guard on patrol of the entrance flinched as something banged on the door behind him. As the guard backed away, the gang all looked at the door awaiting whatever was due to arrive to come out. The handle twitched and slowly rolled downwards before the heavy door swung inwards. Rising to standing, everyone crowded around the doorway to see Littlefoot stroll out into the courtyard.

"LITTLEFOOT!!!" the gang screamed in excitement. They all ran and formed a tight circle around him as the guard re-entered the complex and shut the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" Ali asked hurryingly.

"Are you hurt?" Ducky cried.

"Whoa guys! I'm fine, really I am! Nothing happened," Littlefoot said smiling at his friends' erratic behaviour.

"Good to see you not hurt Littlefoot," Petrie cawed happily perching on his head.

"I'm not so sure…" Jason said sternly.

"What do you mean? Littlefoot's here, he's fine," Cera said bluntly.

"Were you injected with anything Littlefoot? Did anyone give anything to you?" Jason questioned him with a tight, straight face.

"Huh?…N-no, nothing like that. But I do have something for you though," Littlefoot replied. Jason's stern frown melted as he looked at him a little confused. He followed his gaze to the ground and watched him scrape away the dead leaves. Jason's eyes lit up once he saw what he had brought him.

"Oh my God! L-Littlefoot…! I-I…how in the world did you…?" he stammered as he gaped at his gold pendent lying in amongst the leaves.

"I found it in that strange man's room but I'll tell you about that later. Can we get outta here now please?" Littlefoot asked beaming at the shocked look on his face.

"Yeah sure," Jason said as he picked up his pendent and fastening it around his neck again, "That's better! C'mon! Let's go!"

            It didn't take them long to exit the Forest of Fear and re-enter the Grazing Pastures of the Great Valley. Along the way, Littlefoot had been describing what he had experienced whilst he stood in Dominic Westwood's immaculate office and discussed about his dreams, the Stones of Essence and the Heaven's Eternity Crystal.

"So, that Dominic character, the guy in the suit, he said about using these supposed sacred stones to go back in time and patch up all the wrongs that happened in our history?" Jason asked slightly bewildered.

"Yeah, that's what he said," Littlefoot verified as they passed through another thicket.

"That sounds wonderful," Ali said with a gentle smile. The others nodded.

"He's lying!" Jason suddenly blurted out which forced every single pair of eyes to fix on him.

"Lying? Jason, how can you say that? Mr. Westwood sounds like he really wants to help out and fix the mistakes your kind have made in their past. He said that these stones are the key to making it happen," Littlefoot said perplexed.

"…No…I don't believe him," Jason said shaking his head slowly.

"Why not?" Ducky then asked intrigued but greatly concerned.

"Just hearing that…it doesn't sound genuine; not from Westwood. He's not the sort of person to make a statement like that. I always believed that there was something fishy about that transportation pod accident and so did my mother. We both were very sceptical about the whole story. A prototype like that virus would not be announced so openly just to be attacked by protestors. It's never happened before with any other live culture to be transferred and besides, they were very rarely moved via transport pods. I've always thought that there was more to it than that."

"But what's that got to do with Mr. Westwood wanting to help your kind? Don't you want your kind to get another chance at life?" Littlefoot protested.

"It's not that but…all these reasons don't seem consistent. Remember Professor Baxter's reason for wanting to locate those stones?" The gang shuffled unsure of what to say.

"He said that the main purpose was to use the perpetual energy to supply our world with the energy it needs to function normally…something's a miss here. Someone's not being truthful," Jason pondered scratching the back of his head as Littlefoot furrowed his brow in confusion.

            The gang soon arrived in the Green Meadow and the sun's glistening rays were quickly becoming fainter as the night started to creep up on them again. Everyone split up to forage for a little food whilst the light was still strong. Once they had all filled their stomachs, the gang regrouped in the centre of the meadow. The night's inky blanket had stealthily spread across the turquoise, sea blue sky and consumed the sun's last beams of light leaving the stars to shimmer and glisten like rare diamonds.

"That was good. Me really tired now after such a long day," Petrie yawned stretching his wings to full length.

"Yeah, me too," Littlefoot agreed as he, too, stretched and yawned widely.

"So much has happened today right Spike?" Ducky said merrily as Spike drew breath to yawn as well.

"It's kinda dark. Where do you suppose our folks are? I would have expected my dad to be calling me by now or at least see the twins coming to get me," Cera then noticed.

"Hmm…I dunno. I haven't heard anything all night," Ali said picking up on Cera's point.

"Let's not jinks it," Littlefoot said playfully, "we can play for a little longer and…hey! Where'd Jason go?"

"Umm…I do not know. He was with us a little while ago, he was," Ducky said trying hard not to fall off Spike's head as he looked left and right for any sign of Jason.

"He's just disappeared. How's he able to always do that?" Cera asked mildly intrigued. The gang began calling out for him but after a few shouts, they received no reply.

"Where could he have gone? This isn't like him," Littlefoot said slightly worried.

"Maybe he go home. Should we look there?" Petrie suggested.

"Maybe. Let's go check it out," Littlefoot replied leading the way to his nesting ground.

            A short jog later, the gang arrived at Littlefoot's home but there was no sign of Jason. Everyone hunted around the area for even the smallest clue to his whereabouts.

"He's not here Littlefoot. We've searched this bit for ages now," Cera whinged.

"But where could he have gone? His brown holder full of human things is not here either," Littlefoot said starting to panic.

"You do not think that he has been captured by the humans again, do you?" Ducky said fearfully.

"They couldn't have taken him from right beside us! Oh…where is he? He could be…" Littlefoot stammered.

"Shhhhhh…listen!" Ali then hissed.

"What wrong Ali?" Petrie whispered curiously.

"Listen…I hear something." The gang quickly silenced and listened hard to the wind that whipped and whistled around them softly.

"What is it?" Cera asked finally picking up on the sound.

"It…it sounds like…music…" Ducky said uncertainly.

"Yeah. It does sound like music but…it's not a voice…it doesn't sound like someone's singing," Littlefoot trying to analyse the bizarre sound that was now echoing through the trees.

"What could it be? Do you think it could be Jason?" Cera suggested unknowingly.

"Maybe, it's coming from over there," Ali said pointing with her head. Without another word, the gang trotted after Ali as they followed the haunting melody that seemed to be mystically travelling on the wind.

Chapter 45: The Key to the Door of True Power 

            Navigating through the dark thickets and shadowy trunks of the trees, the gang tried to locate the source of the unnatural music. The melody grew louder with each thicket they crawled through as they searched desperately for its composer. Suddenly, the music stopped and everyone stood still now unsure which direction to go.

"Which way now?" Cera asked spinning in circles.

"I…I don't know. It's stopped," Ali complained.

"Me no like this place at night. Trees look really spooky," Petrie said starting to tremble.

"Oh come on Petrie! This is our home; what is there to possibly be afraid of?" Cera barked.

"Me suddenly remember Jason's story about ghosts and scary humans chasing that human girl," Petrie said now with his knees knocking together.

"D-don't be silly Petrie. That w-was ju-just a story right?………Right?!" Cera said trying to hide he nervousness as she, too, was now thinking of Jason's horror story. The gang felt incredibly frightened as they stood in the centre of the darkened thicket unsure which way to go and with the chilling feeling that they were being watched.

            Suddenly, there was a rustling coming from the undergrowth behind them.

"Yyyaaahhh!!! What was that?!" Cera cried in panic leaping from her position and nearly landing on Spike.

"Sss-ssss-ssomething is m-mmoving over there," Ducky said shivering, pointing at a shadowy bush that was shaking as if it were alive.

"H-hello…ww-who's there?" Ali said nervously standing very close to Littlefoot.

"J-Jason? Is…is that you in there?" Littlefoot asked apprehensively. The bush didn't answer but the rustling suddenly got stronger. Eyes wide with dread, the gang watched as two small creatures launched out from the shrubbery without warning. Everyone squealed in fright and all they began running in all directions before all diving behind a separate bush of their own. Quivering behind their leafy shields, one by one, they popped their heads out in response to something that sounded like childish giggling. Emerging from behind their hiding places, they moved forward cautiously to investigate what it was. As the moonlight crept in between the trees, its silvery streaks fell on two, tiny figures now rolling on the ground in fits of laughter.

"Dinah! Dana! You two little troublemakers!" Cera hollered in anger in amongst her deep breaths.

"Yay! Is-a Dinee, Danee!" Dinah giggled.

"Hiya Auntie-Cerie! You-ie go-go bye-bye! Mooshie-moo!" Dana sniggered.

"Yeah, yeah! Very funny! What are you two doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be with Grandpa Threehorn?" Cera asked still slightly annoyed.

"Dinee, Danee na-na moo-zica!" Dana said excitedly.

"What'd he say Ducky?" Ali asked looking at the tiny threehorn bound up and down.

"He said they heard some strange music and decided to follow it," Ducky translated.

"They were following the music too? Hmm…I wonder if…" Cera began but the haunting melody had started again. This time, it was much louder.

"Moo-zica! Moo-zica! Is-a moo-zica Danee!" Dinah squeaked hyperactively.

"It started again…" Petrie cawed.

"It's…it sounds like it's coming from the Thundering Falls. Let's go!" Littlefoot said merrily.

"Yay! Less-ie go-go!" Dana chirped.

            Now with some means of a destination, the gang plus the Threehorn Twins, pressed on through the shrubbery until the roaring of the majestic Thundering Falls could be heard getting closer. As they approached the massive waterfall, they looked around the edge of the pool to see if the music (which had now stopped) was coming from there. With nothing in sight, the gang sighed and were about to turn back when the music started again. It sounded as if it was directly on top of them.

"Where is it coming from?" Ducky whispered in case whatever was making the music suddenly disappeared if it knew it was being watched. Everyone else shrugged.

"Dinee! Dinee lookie! Is-a Two-Legs!" Dana shrieked softly.

"What? Two-Legs? Did they say Jason was here?" Littlefoot asked immediately on hearing the twins talking about him.

"Yep, yep, yep they did!" Ducky chirped.

"Look! He up there on the Jumping Rock," Petrie said pointing him out. As quietly as they could, everyone crept around the trees and, sure enough, Jason was sitting on the very edge of the high, flat rock that they all used as a natural diving board. To his lips, he was holding his custom-made piccolo he had carved himself. He was playing the same beautiful melody that the gang had been tracing all the way to the Thundering Falls.

"So, it was Jason making that strange music," Ali said as she listened to the song that made her feel strangely warm inside. As Jason continued to play, the gang stood, entranced by the haunting tune that circled on the breeze as he played on, unknowing he had an audience, over the sparkling waters that reflected the silvery beams of moonlight like silky ribbons floating on gently lapping waves emitted by the waterfall.

            It was impossible to speak a word whilst Jason played atop the rock as the clouds drifted silently across the indigo night sky, increasing the emotion and beauty of his song. It was as if nature was responding to the music as the trees rustled softly as if to be dancing to the tune as the gang remained, motionless and wrapped in awe, stood at the base of the rock but slightly hidden by the swaying branches. The two juvenile threehorn twins began rocking in time with the melody as it seemed to capture them in an uncharacteristic silence. Each of them felt a strange tingling sensation, which made them partially snap out of their hypnosis. Only Littlefoot remained unphased by the feeling as he stood, completely mesmerized, listening. Strange memories started flooding back as they did before in Westwood's office once he saw the 3D model of one of the Stones of Essence.

"Wow! It's so beautiful…" Ali sighed feeling inexplicably light.

"Oh yes! It is, it is! Right Spike?" Ducky said as Spike nodded slowly and smiling widely.

"It's amazing…It's so moving…" Cera uttered in wonder.

"Yeah…what you think Littlefoot?" Petrie asked turning to him, "…Littlefoot?" Littlefoot had lowered his head as if he had been blinded by something. His eyes were clamped shut so tightly, it looked as if he was in pain.

"What's wrong Littlefoot?" Ali was sympathetically.

"I…I can't see…I can't open my eyes…" he complained as a burning erupted over his eyes, "It…it really hurts!"

"What do you mean? Did something hit you?" Ducky asked extremely worried.

"N-no! It's…it's…" Littlefoot stammered. The stinging was becoming unbearable as his eyes started to water.

"Oh Littlefoot! No cry otherwise you make me cry too," Petrie pleaded starting to sniffle.

"I'm…I'm not crying…something…is…"

            Without warning, Jason's song stopped. Instantaneous to him stopping, Littlefoot felt his eyes stop burning. He snapped them open once the pain subsided, blinked once or twice and looked up.

"I…I can see again!" he exclaimed breathlessly.

"What happened?" Ali asked softly as he panted heavily.

"I don't know but…when Jason stopped, the pain stopped as well."

"But why did he stop? Huh? Where'd he go?" Cera cried as she looked up at the rock and found Jason was no longer there. The gang ran out into the clearing but Jason had disappeared again.

"He gone again," Petrie cawed exasperatedly.

"Where'd he…" Littlefoot started but he was interrupted but high-pitched squeals from the two baby threehorns.

"Two-Legs! Two-Legs go-ie bye-bye!!!" Dinah exclaimed panic-stricken.

"What? Where?" Littlefoot cried.

"There!" Ducky shouted pointing into the river. The gang gasped in horror as they saw Jason floating, facedown, in the water. Not wasting a moment, Littlefoot leapt into the water and pulled him to the shore by the hood if his jumper.

            Panicking, everyone looked over Jason's unmoving body with his piccolo clasped in one hand.

"Is he all right?!" Ali cried desperately. Littlefoot tried nudging him but he flinched when he came into contact with his chest.

"What is wrong?" Ducky called as Littlefoot reared up and hissed in pain.

"Jason's burning hot! I couldn't touch him!" he replied. The others tried resting a foot on Jason's torso but they too received a burn which made them jerk.

"What's going on? Why is he so hot?" Ali asked horrified.

"Is he sick or something?" Cera said shaking her foot to revive the feeling in it.

"I don't know I…" Littlefoot began but he gasped in amazement at the sight he just saw. The others followed his gaze and they were astounded as well.

"Look! Jason's stone!" Littlefoot whispered.

"It…glowing…" Petrie said gaping with wide eyes.

"What's it doing? It looks like it's pulsing…" Cera said slowly.

"It…it looks like…it's alive…" Ali said mesmerised. As they had described, the ruby in Jason's pendent was pulsating rhythmically. It's warm, glowing, red light lit up his unconscious body and was radiating further and further outwards.

"What's going on? Why is Jason's stone doing that?" Cera asked slowly.

"Could it be? Is Mr. Westwood right? Are my dreams really coming true?" Littlefoot whispered to himself in disbelief.

"What should we do? Should we try and wake him up?" Ducky asked very concerned.

"But how? He's too hot to lay a foot on him!" Cera argued as she watched Dinah and Dana try to approach Jason again but squealed in pain on contact.

"Why not try to cool him down?" Petrie then said flying over to the river. Following him down to the bank, everyone grabbed a corner of Jason's clothing and dragged him to the edge of the water as it gently lapped the shore.

"What now? If we throw him in he could drown," Littlefoot said seriously.

"Don't worry, Spike can take care of it," Ducky announced patting Spike on the neck.

"How?" Ali asked.

"Watch! Okay Spike! Do your stuff," Ducky instructed happily. Nodding in acknowledgement, Spike lowered his head into the water and drew up a large mouthful. With his cheeks bulging, Spike turned and aimed, then, spat the water in Jason's face at full force. In response, Jason was instantly revived as he flapped around helplessly as Spike continued to spray him. Once Spike had run out of water, Jason lurched up, coughing and spluttering.

"Ack!…Ah-hey! huh? What the…? What happened?" Jason said wiping his drenched face.

"Jason! You're okay!" Littlefoot said jovially.

"Well done Spike!" Ducky said congratulating her little brother who smiled and hummed merrily.

"Uh…yeah, I guess. Man! What in the world just happened? I don't remember a thing," Jason said with his face buried in his hands.

"Two-Legs? You-ie na-na beb-ter?" Dinah asked sweetly but with a troubled expression.

"Yeah, I'm okay Dinah. Thank you. Were you guys nearby when you found me?" Jason said stroking the little threehorn with one hand.

"Uh huh! We were listening to your song Jason. It was so pretty," Ducky said giggling rather girlishly.

"You…you were listening to me? But I thought I was miles out for anyone to hear?" Jason said astounded flicking the wet sleeves of his jumper.

"Us-ie mooshie Two-Legs!" Dinah chirped happily.

"Yeah. Dinee, Danee luvvie Two-Leggie's moo-zica!" Dana agreed. The two of them began humming the melody and dancing around in circles. The gang laughed as they watched the two, baby threehorns waltz around each other in time with their humming which caused Spike to quickly join in. As the twins stopped, Jason smiled, put his piccolo to his lips and started playing again one more time.

"So, you really like it huh?" Jason asked again once he'd finished. The twins bobbed up and down as did the rest of the gang.

"It was really sweet and moving," Ali said airily.

"Yeah, it even got to me. What's it called?" Cera asked.

"It's a lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I couldn't get to sleep. She said she discovered it on the wall of one of the ancient tombs where she found the Parchment of Essences. It was inscribed on the wall in symbols and she managed to decipher the ancient language and reveal it's title. It literally translated to, "If We Hold on Together". A song that was supposed to bond souls over a great distance and even time. I've never forgotten it and whenever I feel alone, I play this melody and it gives me a strange uplifting feeling that I can't describe but recently, as I play it, I keep feeling something else as well."

"Something else? Like what?" Ducky softly.

"It's kinda hard to say. It's sorta like a…growing warmth…right here," Jason said calmly laying a hand on his chest over his pendent.

"Really?" Littlefoot said greatly intrigued.

"Yeah…well it starts off as a warmth but then it suddenly explodes into a burning. Almost like there's a fire deep inside. It becomes so intense that I always find myself blacking out and waking up some time later, completely disorientated," Jason said slightly uncertain.

"Is that what happened up on the Jumping Rock?" Petrie asked pointing up at the massive boulder overhanging the water.

"Must have been. I don't understand why it happens…it just does. I'm lucky that you guys found me this time or I may have not come around at all," he replied shrugging.

"I know what you mean Jason. I felt a burning too, in my eyes. The more I listened to you play your song, the more painful it became. I though I was going to go blind and it made my eyes water," Littlefoot said.

"Yeah, it nearly make me cry too," Petrie added starting to snivel.

"No…I wasn't crying! It was more like, something was trying to get out," Littlefoot corrected him.

"That's exactly what I feel like. Like something is desperately trying to escape from within," Jason said excitedly.

"Well, I didn't feel anything like that. I felt something tingle but that was it. No burning," Cera said flatly.

"Me neither," Ali said but with a little more compassion to her words. Littlefoot and Jason turned to look at Ducky, Petrie and Spike but they shook their heads.

"I wonder what this is all about…" Jason said resting his head on his knees.

"I'm beginning to think that all these things are linking back to my dreams. I told Mr. Westwood about them and he seems to think so too," Littlefoot stated slowly.

"I remember you mentioning that but can you recall everything about your dreams Littlefoot?" Jason asked now giving his full attention to him.

"Yeah, I want to hear it too but let's get out of here and go somewhere a bit more open," Cera suggested nervously.

            The gang wandered back through the woodland with Littlefoot explaining his dreams along the way as best as he could recall. Everything from his first encounter with the old longneck in the triangular room with the three glistening waterfalls, his meetings with the two other chosen ones and his second meeting with the old longneck as she described about the three Stones of Essence and the Heaven's Eternity Crystal.

"Heaven's Eternity Crystal huh? Can't say I've ever heard mum mention anything like that in any of her reports," Jason said as they approached the last thicket before Littlefoot's home ground.

"The old longneck said that it was the most powerful thing ever. It has unlimited energy that can be used by anyone," Littlefoot said.

"And this crystal is formed when all three Stone of Essence are brought together you say?" Ali asked fascinated.

"Yeah, that's what she said," Littlefoot verified.

"But there's more to it than that right?" Jason asked picking up on Littlefoot's tone of voice.

"Yes. The stones won't just all come together, there is some sort of trick to getting them to bind together as one. When this happens, the Heaven's Eternity Crystal is formed and it's true power can be unleashed."

"Wow! That sound amazing!" Petrie said enjoying the story from on top Littlefoot's head.

"So, we believe that both you and Jason have two of the stones; the red one and the blue one. But, who has the green stone?" Cera then asked.

"I'm not sure but my dreams tell me it could be Jill. She saved us from those sharpteeth just like that strange human in white saved me from those scary trees," Littlefoot said.

"You are right Littlefoot. I remember seeing Jill with a triangular cut, emerald ring on her finger when they took me in for a second time. It looks exactly the same as my ruby and your sapphire but I don't know if she knows what it has the potential to do," Jason said analytically.

"But wait, remember when Jill was hurt in the Green Meadow after defeating those sharpteeth? Jill said something about she knew what the other humans were up to. She knew what they had planned or something like that…" Ducky said as she remembered the awful sight of seeing Jill lying in the field critically wounded.

"Do you think that maybe Jill does know something about all this?" Cera asked curiously.

"She might do but there is no way of asking her whilst she's still in her coma. I'm just praying that she makes it through that let alone asking her about all this Stones of Essence stuff," Jason said solemnly. The group nodded and hummed agreeingly.

Coming out of the last thicket, the gang walked over to Littlefoot's nesting place to sit down for a while. Jason placed his bag down at the base of his tree and climbed up to rest. As everyone else settled down under him, Jason put his piccolo in his pocket, took his pendent in his hand and stared into it. With all that Littlefoot had said about his dreams, Jason kept wondering about all that had happened. How did he activate the Chronos Doorway back in his time? Was it purely coincidence that Littlefoot's dreams had portrayed all that had happened so far? If so then what did his dreams mean? And what could it mean for their future if it was all true? As he continued to gaze hypnotically into his blood, red ruby, his thought then turned to his mother and all that she unveiled when she was working on the project. Did she know something that the Red Phoenix directors wanted to know? Would that explain why they had to flee for their lives thus resulting in her untimely death? Also, if she did know then, why in the world did she pass the pendent over to him when they were hiding in that chemical storage cupboard? Jason blinked and snapped out of his trance before dropping the pendent back down onto his chest. Sighing, he turned and looked at the others as they spoke quietly to each other. As he rolled over, Jason felt his piccolo dig into his thigh. Picking it out of his pocket again, he began contemplating what Littlefoot meant by unlocking the stones' powers in order for them to merge into their final form. He then had a strange idea that could maybe explain the intense burning feelings he and Littlefoot felt when he played his song. Feeling he had nothing to lose, and with the gang distracted, Jason started playing his mother's melody again.

The gang instantly looked up at him as he played and began feeling the same light, airy sensations that had felt before. Littlefoot smiled but couldn't help but fear that the burning in his eyes would start up again once Jason had started. As he had feared, Littlefoot began to feel the tingling in his eyes. Everyone else, on the ground, looked at him as he started blinking excessively to relieve the pain that was steadily growing. They then shot a glance up at Jason when he started to flinch awkwardly but he carried on playing regardless.

"Erm…Jason…I think you should stop now…I think you're hurt yourself and Littlefoot," Ali suggested worryingly but Jason found he couldn't stop once he had started.

"Umm…Jason…you should stop," Ducky agreed but Jason didn't respond.

"Jason! Stop playing! You're hurting Littlefoot!" Cera shouted angrily and began ramming his tree. The shuddering of vibrations up the tree trunk jolted Jason and he pulled the little, wooden instrument from his mouth, panting.

"Jason, what were you doing?" Cera barked irritably.

"S-sorry guys. I wanted to see something but as soon as I began playing I couldn't stop," Jason said breathlessly, "are you alright Littlefoot? I didn't mean to cause you any pain, I swear."

"It's okay Jason," Littlefoot said shaking his head as the burning subsided.

"So…did you find out what you were trying to achieve?" Ducky asked now greatly relieved that both of them had stopped hurting.

"I'm not sure. I'm still waiting for a…huh?" Jason said but a bright flash interrupted him. Everyone wooed in astonishment as they saw the ruby in Jason's pendent begin to glow again and as before, it was pulsating steadily.

"It doing it again! Your stone is glowing Jason," Petrie cawed in wonder.

"I've…I've never seen this before! I'm usually out cold when this happens," Jason exclaimed in awe as he watched the gleaming red light emitting from his pendent. Suddenly, Jason then saw something shimmering out of the corner of his eye. Looking down passed everyone else on the ground, as they all were looking up at him, Jason could see it radiating from the blades of grass in Littlefoot's sleeping pit.

"Hey guys! What's that down there?" he said pointing down passed them all. They all broke their gaze from Jason's pendent to follow his finger.

"What's that?!" Ali gasped.

"Littlefoot? Is that your…?" Ducky asked, her large, moony eyes were reflecting the shimmering blue ring sprinkled with glittering stars.

"It's my stone!" Littlefoot gaped pulling the grass back to reveal his lucky stone. The little, triangular sapphire was emitting a blue ring that sparkled with white stars that seem to be dripping off like twinkling water droplets. As Jason jumped down from out of his tree to huddle around everyone else, Littlefoot bent down to pick it up. Raising his head for everyone to gaze at the stone more closely, Jason then felt something twinge in his chest.

"What's wrong Jason?" Ali asked picking up on Jason's little, painful squeal.

"I…I can feel something…" he said taking his pendent in his hand. He then, instinctively, pulled it over his head and held it in front of everyone, close to Littlefoot's stone. Without warning, Jason's ruby flew out of his outstretched hand just as Littlefoot's sapphire shot out from between his teeth and they struck each other in mid-air shooting glowing sparks like two flints trying starting a fire. The gang all jumped backwards in great shock fearing that the stones were liable to cause them harm but they continued to watch as the stones hovered above their heads trying to interact with each other as if alive. After a few seconds, both stones flashed their respective colours before their lights diminished and they fell back down to the ground. A little apprehensive to advance, everyone looked at each other, all completely thunderstruck.

"What was that all about?" Ali asked eyeing everyone else. They are all still extremely shocked at what they had just witnessed.

"That was immense!" Jason exclaimed bending down to pick up his pendent, "It was as if they were possessed or something…" He closed his fist around the stone which was still warm.

"It was if they had a mind of their own," Ducky said slowly as Littlefoot did the same as Jason. Similarly, his sapphire was warm too.

"I think we're on to something here you guys…" Jason said fretfully, "It seems as though the stones react with each other when they came into close proximity."

"Yeah, and it looks at though your song is what started them off Jason," Cera said.

"Nah-nee no-no Two-Legs! Whas-a go-go?" Dinah asked shivering in fear.

"No-ie us-ie Dinee Danee nuh-uh!" Dana agreed quivering next to his twin sister. Jason patted them as they cowered up to him.

"I'm afraid I don't know what's going on twins but don't be scared. We'll get to the bottom of this…you'll see," he said to them softly but he knew that something extraordinary was at hand here. As Jason scanned the troubled expressions on everyone's faces he began wondering what all this could possibly lead to. Little did any of them realise that all would be revealed much sooner they anticipated.


	14. Part 12: A Devil in the Shadows

Chapter 46: The Red Phoenix's Silence 

            A few days had passed and everything in the Great Valley seemed to be very stagnant and inactive. Ali's herd were making plans to begin their migration again once a few volunteers had returned after venturing out into the Mysterious Beyond to check that it was safe to continue. The Red Phoenix personnel had been very quiet and hadn't disturbed the Valley's residence for three days and no one had seen or heard any peculiar activity from them at all. Despite their unusual spell of idleness, this made everyone very nervous; especially Jason, Littlefoot and the rest of the gang. It was impossible for them to shake the looming feeling that they were up to something. Throughout the past couple of nights, Littlefoot's troublesome dreams had returned but he couldn't make any sense of them. Even discussing them with his friends didn't help clear them up but Jason felt that they would come into context some time later as the others had done beforehand. It was now morning and everyone was up and busy feeding in the meadows and surrounding thickets. Littlefoot and Jason were strolling through one of the more popular glades were dinosaurs like to eat their fill. Having satisfied their hunger some time before, the two of them were heading to the stretch of water where Ali's herd had settled during their stay in the Valley. On the way, Littlefoot was telling Jason more about his dreams as he finished putting something into his brown bag.

"Strange creatures…attacking…" Jason slurred as he pondered what Littlefoot's latest nightmare could mean.

"Yeah, just loads and loads of monsters running around. Everyone fleeing in terror, so scared…it was horrible…" Littlefoot said weakly.

"Are you sure it just wasn't another one of my horror stories getting to you? If it was then I think I'd better stop telling them to you," Jason said smirking. Littlefoot looked at him and sniggered.

"I don't think so…but I keep wondering what they mean. If my past dreams have all become real so far then more could follow," he continued but after thinking about it for a few moments Littlefoot stopped.

"What's up?" Jason asked double-backing when he realised that Littlefoot wasn't beside him anymore.

"Jason…I'm…I'm kind of worried about all this…" Littlefoot said sheepishly, "What if something does happen? If something like this was to happen then…everything will be my fault…"

"Hey, don't go blaming yourself. You never know, this could all be coincidence remember? Besides, you sound like me when you talk like that," Jason said smiling. He wrapped his arm over Littlefoot's head to comfort him. Littlefoot looked up at him and smiled half-heartedly.

"Don't worry pal. And hey! Don't forget that whatever happens, we all got each other. Me, you, Spike, Ducky, Cera, Petrie and Ali. If anything weird goes down, we'll all be there right?" Jason said optimistically, his smile never weakening.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Littlefoot said feeling a little better, "Oh! Speaking of Ali, we better get over to her herd's nesting spot. I think her herd's volunteers are due to be back this morning."

"C'mon, it's just ahead. Race ya there!" Jason challenged taking off. Littlefoot laughed and swiftly followed suit.

            Puffing and panting, Littlefoot and Jason stopped just short of their destination. As they stopped to recover, they looked at each other and laughed again.

"Wooooo! That was fun!" Jason said breathlessly with his hands on his knees.

"Yeah, sure was," Littlefoot agreed laughing at the same time. Once they had racked up enough energy to move again, they both walked around the last set of trees before approaching the sheltered glade where Ali's herd were staying. To their surprise, neither Ali nor her herd were there.

"Huh? They're not here! Can they have left already?!" Jason exclaimed.

"N-no! Ali would just leave without saying goodbye!" Littlefoot said shaking his head.

"Maybe they're on their way out. C'mon, let's get to the Green Meadow and see if anything's happening there." Taking off like two shots from a gun, Jason and Littlefoot sprinted for the Green Meadow both hoping that Ali hadn't left the Valley yet.

            It didn't take them long to reach the Green Meadow but at the rate they were tearing through the woodland, Littlefoot and Jason were exhausted when they got there. Upon arriving at the Green Meadow, there was a great crowd swarming and more and more were joining. Littlefoot and Jason staggered into the centre of the vast field and collapsed gasping for breath. The fear of missing Ali's departure had made them push themselves faster and harder in order to get there as quickly as possible. As they sat on the cool, wavering grass, four familiar faces strolled up to them from out of the crowd.

"And just where have you two been?" Cera asked eyeing them suspiciously.

"We…went…to…Ali's spot…but she…wasn't…there," Jason puffed.

"She…hasn't…left yet…has…she?" Littlefoot said hoarsely.

"No, I haven't left yet," a gentle voice said from behind Spike.

"ALI!" Jason and Littlefoot exclaimed in unison. Once they had reclaimed their energy, the two of them stood up.

"We went to your nesting place but we couldn't find you," Littlefoot sighed feeling greatly relieved.

"Oh no, don't worry. Did you really think I was going to leave you without saying goodbye? I wouldn't be much of a friend if I did," Ali said smiling warmly, "besides, I'm not leaving just yet."

"We are all here to wait for those of Ali's herd to return. They are due to come back today, they are," Ducky said.

"So, if those look-outs give your herd the all clear, when do you plan to head out?" Jason asked.

"Our leader says that we have delayed for long enough so I'd imagine as soon as possible. They might let those who travelled out into the Mysterious Beyond rest of a while but after that, we'll continue our migration up to the High Hills," Ali said bravely. She was determined to hide any signs of regret of her herd moving out. It had been a long time since she had spent time with Littlefoot and the others and she wanted to stay but she knew she couldn't.

            The Green Meadow quickly became rowdy with chatter as a small herd appeared and confronted Ali's herd's leader. The gang looked up at the conversing adults fretfully, awaiting the verdict of when they would be leaving. The old longneck leader nodded one final time and then swung around to her herd.

"Listen up everyone. We have decided that we will be leaving once our brave travellers have fully replenished their strength. It seems that the outer regions of the Great Valley are once again calm enough for us to continue our migration. Therefore, I propose that once the Bright Circle has reached its highest point in the sky tomorrow morning, we move out."

On hearing the old longneck's decision, the gang all turned and faced each other.

"So, you're heading out at noon tomorrow," Jason said as coolly as he could, "looks like we've got about thirty hours or so."

"So what then? Let's not waste the little time we have left," Cera said trying to keep everyone's spirits up.

"Yeah, okay. What we do then?" Petrie asked smiling.

"Well, why not let Ali decide?" Littlefoot said turning to her, "Ali? What's it gonna be?"

"Well I…" she stammered but she was distracted by Jason who had flinched in response to something.

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked him as he put his hand up to his ear.

"My Frequency Amplifier's going off. Looks like Professor Baxter wants me in again, " Jason said tapping the tiny machine behind his ear to stop the beeping.

"What? Now? Can't he wait? We got other things to do," Cera barked irritably.

"Sorry Cera, I gotta go find out what he wants; it might be important."

"Wait Jason. We'll go with you," Ali said shouting after him as he started for the Forest of Fear. Jason turned and looked back at her a little confused.

"It's okay. Besides, I wouldn't mind seeing Jill one last time. Y'know…just to see how she is?"

"Oh yes! I would like to see her again too! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped happily. The others all chattered agreeingly.

"Well, can't argue with that. C'mon let's go! The sooner we sort this out, the quicker we can get back to messing around," Jason said waving them after him. With one last smiling glance each, the gang cantered after Jason as he disappeared into the nearest copse.

            The gang quickly ploughed through the Grazing Pasture and straight into the Forest of Fear without a single thought about its supposed curse and supernatural ability to kidnap those who dare venture into it. Before long, they found the Red Phoenix complex sitting in its man-made clearing with thin beams of sunlight encircling it. As last time, Jason took point and examined the entrance before signalling to the others that the coast was clear.

"That's weird," Jason said a little perplexed.

"What weird?" Petrie asked finding his usual perch on Jason's shoulder.

"There's no sentry posted here. No one's guarding the front gate," Jason said curiously.

"What's so weird about that?" Cera asked naively.

"It's nothing. C'mon, the gates unlocked. The professor obviously cleared the way for us," he then said shaking his mind of his earlier uncertainties. Pulling the gate open, everyone filed inside and Jason led the way into the complex once he discovered that the front door was also unlocked.

            Inside, the gang wandered down the halls to reach Professor Baxter's lab. Strangely, the corridors were abnormally quiet and the labs that were usually buzzing with erratic activity were all empty. With no one around, the tiny base seemed must larger than normal.

"This isn't right…where is everyone?" Jason exclaimed perplexed.

"Where all the humans gone?" Petrie asked nervously.

"Could they all have returned to the human world?" Ali asked.

"Nah, that can't be the reason. If that was the case, why would the professor still be here?"

"Maybe he has stayed behind to wait for you Jason," Ducky suggested.

"But the professor said that there isn't enough power to initiate the Chronos Doorway yet," Jason objected.

"That's right," a croaky voice said from in front of them. Everyone jumped not realising that Professor Baxter was only a few feet ahead of them. Littlefoot and Cera fell backwards onto Ali, Spike and Ducky whilst Petrie had tumbled into the hood of Jason's jumper closing the neck of it around Jason's throat.

"Oh…phof-yesser! Isss you," Jason quacked as he clasped his windpipe.

"Yes. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to frighten you all. Please, follow me," the old man said adjusting his glasses before leading the way. As everyone recomposed themselves and Jason could breathe again, they all followed the professor into his laboratory.

            Once everyone had waddled their way into the tiny room and found a seat somewhere, Jason placed his bag down in the corner and instantly began firing questions.

"Hey professor. How come there's no one here? Where are all the scientists and military squadies?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the authority to divulge such information my boy. We are at a very crucial stage in our energy development programme. Everyone has been given special orders from our director, Mr. Westwood," Professor Baxter said fiddling around with unknown equipment on the work surface.

"So why did you call me here then?"

"I need you to take a little medical check for me. It's painless and it will only take a few minutes."

"Oh okay then. What you gonna do?" Jason asked as he hopped up onto the examination table.

"It's just a quick scan of your vital signs. I want to see if the results of this data sample I've taken reacts with specific brainwave patterns and other physiological components. I would normally ask one of the other scientists but they are all busy with their other assignments the director has given them. Don't worry it's all external so no needles or anything." A little concerned, everyone looked up at Jason but he just shrugged.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Cera asked sternly.

"Hmm? Oh yes. I'm afraid you all will have to wait outside. Jason will need to be completely undisturbed for this examination otherwise it will make the results unreliable," the professor stated.

"Can we go and see Jill?" Ducky asked sweetly.

"Very well. Can you remember the way? Security is minimal so you won't have a problem getting to her room."

"Okay, thank you Professor Baxter," Littlefoot said heading for the open door. He then turned back and watched the professor place a strange looking machine on Jason's head, "Cya later Jason." Jason waved to them as they passed the window and started for Jill's room.

            Roughly remembering the way down to the recovery wing, Littlefoot and the rest of gang headed down the corridors that, to them, all seemed exactly the same.

"Let's go this way," Petrie advised pointing in one direction.

"Is it that way?" Ali asked looking down one corridor of a T-junction.

"No! It's definitely this way," Cera called nodding her head in the opposite direction.

"Oh! This is so confusing, it is, it is," Ducky whined holding her head.

"No wait. It's this way, I remember these doors with the shiny things on them," Littlefoot said looking up at the Greek letters and numbers on the doors. Cera snorted ignorantly having been proven wrong as she waddled down the corridor, ahead of the pack. Near the end of the hall, the gang found the area where Jill's room was but the door was closed and since they were all the same, no one knew which one to go through. After a little argument about which door was Jill's, Littlefoot pulled the handle of one of the doors and it swung inwards. Relieved that he had picked the right one, the gang strolled quietly into Jill's room. Jill was still in her coma and it looked as if she hadn't budged an inch since they last visited her. Everyone looked over her mournfully. Littlefoot looked up at the machine that was monitoring her closely trying to understand what all rolling graphs and coloured lines meant. Failing to comprehend what the ECG machine was displaying, Littlefoot looked down on Jill again. Thoughts of her rescue and the human woman in flowing, white robes from his dreams and how he had linked her to all the business concerning the Stones of Essence.

            As everyone sat in silence watching over Jill, there was a sudden bellowing in the room which made them all jump.

"Littlefoot," the voice rumbled. Whirling around, the gang saw a huge man standing in the doorway. It was Captain Hunter.

"You!" Cera blurted angrily.

"Are you Littlefoot?" he asked nodding in Littlefoot's direction, completely ignoring Cera.

"Y-yes," Littlefoot answered nervously.

"Mr. Westwood would like to see you. He said it's important and that you'd understand," the burly captain said, his gaze was piercing. Littlefoot turned to everybody else who returned his glance.

"O-okay…" he replied a little apprehensively. As he stood up to move, so did the others.

"You are to come alone. Your friends are to leave the premises immediately," Hunter continued.

"What? Littlefoot's not going anywhere without us!" Cera shouted annoyed.

"Littlefoot, you're not honestly going to go with him are you?" Ali whispered to him.

"I have to Ali. Remember what I said before? Mr. Westwood says I can help to save the humans. It's okay…I'll be fine. I'll meet you guys in the Green Meadow later okay?" Littlefoot said solemnly. At first, the gang were surprised to hear Littlefoot's response but they nodded in acknowledgement. Cera grunted indignantly but agreed to leave.

            Walking down the maze of corridors, the six dinosaurs and Captain Hunter stopped in front of the large, oak doors of Westwood's office.

"Go straight in kid. Mr. Westwood is waiting for you," Hunter declared.

"What about my friends?" he protested.

"I'll see them off the grounds. They'll be safe," Hunter said blankly. Littlefoot looked at his friends still concerned for their safety.

"It's alright Littlefoot, we'll be okay. You do what you have to do," Ali told him nobly, the others all nodded agreeingly. Smiling, Littlefoot watched Hunter lead them away before he approached the great doors of Mr. Westwood's office as they opened automatically. Still feeling incredibly nervous, Littlefoot stepped into the vast room as the doors then closed behind him.

Chapter 47: Moulding a Fragile Mind 

            Littlefoot walked into the magnificent office and still found it as awe-inspiring and incredible as the first time. Everything was perfectly fitted and spotless from the towering oak bookcase to the stone statuettes positioned around room. Straight ahead of him, Westwood sat with his fingers interlocked and his elbows on his massive desk. He was staring directly at Littlefoot which made him feel extremely self-conscious.

"Littlefoot! My dear boy! Come in, come in, don't be afraid. Make yourself at home," Westwood chanted merrily as Littlefoot slowly approached the centre of the room with loud, clapping footsteps. As he came to a halt, Littlefoot looked down at the giant symbol of the red phoenix rising from the golden flames that was on the floor. Despite meeting Westwood before, he still felt incredibly vulnerable.

"I'm so glad you came my boy. It's good to see you again," Westwood said offering a rare smile.

"You wanted to see me about something didn't you? I have an idea but I'm still a little unsure," Littlefoot said cautiously.

"Straight onto business I see. You'd make a very good salesman Littlefoot. I would recommend you signing for my management team," Westwood chuckled. Littlefoot smiled weakly which faded as quickly as it showed.

"Right, since you'd prefer to skip all the idle chit-chat, let's get down to situation at hand," Westwood said leaning back in his huge, leather armchair which creaked piercingly, "I must stress that we are in a bit of a crisis in terms of our development on the energy programme. You see, our complex is rapidly losing its energy reserves and they will require replenishing some time very soon. It is imperative that we return to our own time so we can survive."

"What are you saying? Are the humans disappearing or…dying or something?" Littlefoot asked naively.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. If our energy sources are to be completely depleted then I'm afraid we will no longer be able to return home and that will then mean our ultimate demise," Westwood said facing the wall with his index fingers resting on his chin.

"What? So if you don't go back, you'll all die?!" Littlefoot asked extremely shocked. Westwood nodded.

"Couldn't you just all live here with us? Jason has managed so you could too, right?" he suggested.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Our way of life is completely different to yours and if we fail to activate the Chronos Doorway, we will all perish. Even though your friend Jason has survived this long, he too will eventually fall ill and then die. It is inevitable because we are not accustomed to your world and I fear that it is not possible with the little time we have left," Westwood said gravely.

"N-no! That can't happen! Can't you do something? I don't want you all to die! Especially Jason!" Littlefoot cried horrified.

"Yes…there is a way…" Westwood breathed. Littlefoot blinked once or twice awaiting his answer, "The three stones…they are our only salvation. Only but harnessing the power of the three Stones of Essence can we reactivate the Chronos Doorway, return to the year 2113 and therefore save ourselves. From there we can go back and fix the problems we have made as a race and prolong our existence."

"Of course…the stones…" Littlefoot thought aloud.

"You know who has them don't you?"

"Huh? Why yes! I have one…I think Jill may have one and the last one has to be Jason."

"We have recovered one of the three. You were right in assuming that our very own Jill Fielding had one of them but so far, we have been unable to recover the other two."

"I can give you my one. I've got it at home," Littlefoot announced excitedly.

"Great! That just leaves Jason's stone," Westwood said.

"It's okay. I can just ask him. I'm sure he'll understand if it is to save your kind," Littlefoot said jovially. He was very surprised to see Westwood shaking his head.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Littlefoot asked concerned.

"I'm sorry to announce that Jason is not co-operating in this matter despite its great and dire urgency. It seems as though Jason is unwilling to relinquish his pendent and help out. When we discovered this, we had to take it by force. That will explain why we had to capture him and take it from him. We didn't want to have to do it that way but we had no alternative. You might say it's almost as if Jason doesn't want the human race to get another chance."

"No…that can't be true! Jason wouldn't wish for something like that…" Littlefoot said in disbelief, "would he?"

"It certainly seems that way. Mysteriously, the pendent we recovered from him disappeared from my office. We were deeply upset that we lost it because we thought we'd never make it back in time."

"That…that was me Mr. Westwood. I took Jason's pendent…I'm sorry," Littlefoot said lowering his head shamefully.

"That's alright. I understand you only had your friend's best interest at heart but I'm worried that it has cost us much time and if we don't reclaim it and initiate the Doorway…well…I think I'm mentioned it enough time to clarify the seriousness of this situation. Unfortunately, Jason does not seem keen on helping us."

"He did seem really unhelpful. He doesn't seem to think that you want to help your kind. He…he doesn't seem to trust anyone. I don't know why he keeps thinking that. I have to admit, it made me really angry when he said that everything about this was a lie."

"Well, I'm sorry to have to report this to you Littlefoot but I'm afraid I have some rather disturbing news about Jason," Westwood said slowly but sternly. Littlefoot looked up at him slightly confused. Westwood signalled for him to come closer as he began typing on his computer's keyboard.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked at he approached the desk.

"I want to show you something," Westwood said as he continued to punch commands into his computer, "Remember when we took Jason in for the second time? You were in Professor Baxter's lab at the time but Captain Hunter and Sergeant Stone interviewed him in one of our interrogation rooms. This is an audio recording of what he said. I must warn you that this will not be enjoyable." Littlefoot gulped a little but nodded in acknowledgement. With that, Westwood played the footage of Jason in the interrogation room.

            Littlefoot watched the computer screen, awaiting every word Jason spoke. It seemed relatively irrelevant but suddenly, the computer exploded with Jason's recorded voice screaming.

"Damn them! Damn ALL of them! They've mess up my life…… Damn them all to hell!!! I'm just another freak to them! They don't care! They don't give a crap about me! Damn those Re…………nix bastards! When will it stop?…When will all this madness come to an end?…When can I find a……………by those power sapping leeches?…They don't give a damn about anything but themselves! I'm just another statistic to them…just another mindless, pathetic creature that doesn't belong anywhere! I hope those raptors tear them all to shreds! I hate them!…I HATE THEM ALL!!!"

            Littlefoot stepped back from the screen utterly bewildered. Despite the strange blanks, Littlefoot was horrified that Jason had said what he did.

"I…I don't understand…wh-who was Jason talking about when he said all that?" Littlefoot said slowly.

"Captain Hunter had asked him about his feelings of everything here. What he said was about his experiences whilst he was living in your homeland," Westwood said shaking his head.

"This…this can't be right?! Ja-….Jason…said that?!" Littlefoot stuttered weakly. He suddenly felt incredibly sick.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this but those were Jason's exact words. It seems as though he doesn't want anyone to share the power which he has encased in his pendent. It seems to me that he may have some sort of evil ambitions of his own. Perhaps, obtain all the stones for some other plan he may have," Westwood suggested.

"It can't be! It…It just can't…Jason would never do such a thing…he just wouldn't…!" Littlefoot said trying hard not to believe what he had just heard.

"Do you want me to play the audio recording back again just to clarify?" Westwood offered unhelpfully. Littlefoot shook his head as it hung close to the ground.

"I just can't believe that Jason could say that about the Great Valley…about everyone…about…me…" he sighed. He felt as if he wanted to cry.

"I have some other footage but I fear it may be too disturbing for you to watch," Westwood said slowly. Littlefoot lifted his head slowly and stared Westwood in the eye.

"What is it?" he asked cautiously.

"It is footage that will undoubtedly put you off humans for life…what if I were to tell you a dark secret that I'm sure Jason never told you," Westwood whispered darkly leaning closely to Littlefoot. Littlefoot's eyes widened fearfully.

"What if I were to tell you that some of us humans…are meat eaters…"

"What! No! That's…that's impossible! Humans are meat eaters?!" Littlefoot cried in terror.

"Not all but some are. Me for example, I can't stand meat. I think it's disgusting and gut-wrenching to think that someone could kill a helpless creature just to feast on its flesh," Westwood said cringing.

"B-bb-but Jason's not a meat eater! He eats green food like me and my friends!" Littlefoot protested helplessly.

"Humans are very good at disguising themselves. Some humans can eat both plants and meat. They are a special type of human called Omnivores. Ask Jason himself and he'll tell you exactly the same thing."

"No! I don't believe it! I-it's not possible!" Littlefoot stammered.

"It looks like you leave me not other choice my boy. Look here," Westwood said directing him to the screen. Littlefoot looked and gasped in horror as he saw a number of blood-stained humans hunched over something that looked like the corpse of another creature. They appeared to be eating it as one turned slowly and looked directly at the computer screen. Littlefoot jumped away from the computer wailing in fright as he locked eyes with human. Its eyes were unfocused and its irises were greyed over as if they had dirty in them. Its face was covered in blood.  

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!!!" Littlefoot cried utterly horrified. Westwood tapped on the keyboard and the image disappeared.

"You see my boy. Nothing is what it seems. That is why it is very important that we return to our time as quickly as possible. Not only for our sake, but also for the sake of your homeland. Please Littlefoot. Help us! Help us to return home so you can save our kind but also…save your own!" Westwood pleaded with him.

"Al-alright. I'll give you my stone to you. If I get it, you can go home. I don't want my friends or family to be harmed but those meat eating humans. I can't believe it…after all this time I knew Jason; after everything we did together...he could have been a sharptooth all along. Ali was right…about everything. That's why she never trusted him…she must have found out somehow!" Littlefoot whispered to himself.

"Hurry Littlefoot, we don't have much time. I will need those stones as soon as possible," Westwood said waving to the door that had already opened automatically.

"Okay. I'll get you the stone!" Littlefoot said running for the open doors.

"Don't forget Littlefoot! You are the only one who can save our kind and yours from total annihilation!" Westwood shouted after him as he disappeared around the corner.

            Once Littlefoot was out of sight and the doors shut behind him, Westwood grinned sinisterly.

"Yes dear boy. Run! Run as fast as you can! Collect the stones for me…you will undoubtedly be crowned a hero. A hero that will bring about the greatest change this world has ever seen." He then turned to his computer screen and switched the image of the sickly looking humans back on.

"Movies…warp the minds of our younger generations! What a pity! And that edited footage of Jason's little recorded tantrum…heh heh…genius! The kid fell for it like a sap! Oh Littlefoot…you poor fool…you don't have a clue about what you are about to unleash on the world do you? So, innocent and naive and now with a new enemy…your very own human friend whom you cherished so much! This will be an interesting interlude for me whilst I prepare the main event!" With that, Westwood turned to his computer terminal and began typing on it again.

"Project Red Phoenix is almost ready…and I can't wait to see the show!"

Chapter 48: Anger Burns its Raging Flame 

            Littlefoot ran at breakneck speed down the twisting labyrinth of corridors to reach the exit. He had no idea where he was going and his mind was clouded with a mass of thoughts of everything that Westwood had said whilst he was standing in his office. Nothing seemed to make sense as he tried hard to process all the information that had literally been thrown at him. He was the one who could save the humans and also the dinosaurs of the Great Valley in one move. Littlefoot's brain then turned to the horrific scenes of the diseased looking humans and seeing how they were consuming what appeared to be a fresh kill. As much as he didn't want to accept it, he honestly couldn't believe that humans were capable of eating meat. His thoughts then flickered to Jason and the possibility that he could be one of those he'd feared or perhaps he was one of the types of humans that could eat both; an omnivore. Although he didn't even want to consider the fact that Jason was a possible meat eater, he couldn't help but wonder why Jason had not mentioned when they first met. He had told them everything else including the darker side of the human race but why would he hide just that particular detail? This made Littlefoot feel slightly betrayed but worse of all, it made him feel angry. Not only did Jason hide something from him but he was not being very helpful in the whole matter of getting his kind to return to their designated time period. Could Westwood be right in thinking that Jason could be intentionally holding on to his stone for desires of his own?

            Still unsure of where he was, Littlefoot continued to charge down the white, spacey corridors hoping to find the way out. As he passed another laboratory window, Littlefoot looked in and then skidded to a halt. Professor Baxter was busying himself in the lab but Jason was nowhere to be seen. Out of breath, Littlefoot walked up to the door and let himself in having discovered the mechanics of a door handle.

"OH! Littlefoot! It's you dear boy…I must say that you startled me," the old professor said wiping his brow with a handkerchief after jumping nearly double his own height.

"Oh, sorry. Have you seen Jason? I need to talk to him right away," Littlefoot said feeling a little guilty he had frightened the old man to the point he was almost hyperventilating.

"I'm afraid not. He left the lab a few minutes ago; you've just missed him. He said was going to find the rest of your friends but Captain Hunter already escorted them out. I'd presume they will be out in your homeland now," Professor Baxter said folding the little, white cloth and placing it back in his breast pocket behind his name badge. Littlefoot then remembered what he had said to Ali and the others before he met up with Westwood.

"Okay, thanks Professor Baxter. I'll see you later then," he said running out into the corridor. The professor scratched the bald tip of his head and watched as the door slowly pulled itself closed.

"Fascinating…he was able to manipulate a human structure and gain access to my lab. Maybe Jason was right in saying that these dinosaurs are not as simple-minded as we first assumed," he said smiling. He turned back to his work just the door burst inwards just inches before it was due to click shut. The professor leapt up, throwing his tools around the place flailing.

"Oh my! Littlefoot! What in the world are you doing?" the old man panted placing his hand on his chest, clearly frightened half to death.

"Oh…umm…sorry…can I ask you something?" Littlefoot said smiling uneasily.

"Yes, anything. What is it?"

"Errrmmm…where's the way out?" The professor shook his head sighing whilst Littlefoot continued to grin nervously. Having been shown the way to the exit by an extremely shaken Professor Baxter, Littlefoot thanked him and shot off towards the Green Meadow.

            Littlefoot's world was a blur of multiple shades of green as he leapt out of the Forest of Fear and ripped across the Grazing Pasture. He had silently hoped that the gang has disregarded his statement to meet him in the Green Meadow and had waited for him a lot closer. Seeing that this was not the case, he continued to roar through the fields in order to reach his destination. Just then, his mind suddenly switched back to what Westwood had said.

"Wait a second. I can't just go off knowing what I do now. The humans need to return home," he said to himself, "if the humans need to get back to their own time, maybe it might be better if I head home and get my lucky stone now. Yeah! That will help them out." With that in mind, he made a quick detour back to his sleeping place to grab his sapphire. Taking a little shortcut through a small patch of woodland, Littlefoot arrived at his home ground and began rummaging around in his sleeping pit for his stone. Once he found it, he placed it on the grass and stared deep into it. The beautiful, shimmering gem seemed greatly hypnotising as Littlefoot continued to gaze and wonder about everything Westwood had told him. Did it really contain an awesome power that could be used by just about anyone? Where the legend true and there was a special transformation that occurred once they were altogether? Snapping out of his little trance, Littlefoot thoughts soon turned to Jason and what Westwood had mentioned about most humans having the capability to eat both plants and meat. This made him both sceptical and angry as he looked up the petrified tree Jason had been using as a bed since his arrival to the Great Valley. If it were true, why did Jason not tell him before now? The anger burned in him for a little longer before something emerged from the bushes surrounding his home. Whirling around in shock, Littlefoot found himself face-to-face with Captain Hunter.

"Arrrgghh! A-ah!…errr…Wh-what are you doing here?" Littlefoot yelped horrified by his sudden appearance.

"I'm here to collect the stone from you," Hunter said tonelessly.

"H-how did you know where I was?" Littlefoot stammered still slightly shaken by his presence.

"That doesn't matter. Now, do you have the stone or not?" he said blandly. Littlefoot looked to the grassy floor and the captain followed his gaze. Bending down to pick up the tiny sapphire, Hunter placed it in his pocket and turned to leave. 

"Hey, wait a minute! Can I ask you something?" Littlefoot called to his back. Captain Hunter paused but didn't turn to face him.

"What is it?" he said spitefully.

"Erm…is it true…that humans can eat meat? I mean…do you eat meat?" Littlefoot asked nervously. Hunter didn't answer right away, he seemed to be distracted by his thoughts.

"Yeah, I do. I enjoy eating meat so I suggest you get out of here before I start on you," he barked nastily. Littlefoot flinched and backed away from him slowly. Without another word, Hunter walked into the bushes from whence he came and disappeared. Still greatly disturbed, Littlefoot shook his head to try and rid his head of the awful images he had just manifested mentally. Once the thoughts had gone, Littlefoot quickly remembered that he was supposed to be meeting his friends in the Green Meadow ages ago. With his sapphire now clearly out of his possession, Littlefoot sprinted for the meadows. 

Littlefoot soon found himself in a sheltered glade just before the Green Meadow where he stopped to recover from his run. As he stood under the shadow of a large, swaying tree breathing heavily, Littlefoot's ears then picked up on the sound of a set of familiar voices coming from the other side of the bushes. He shuffled quietly to the edge of meadow's border and poked his head through the leaves. On the other side, Littlefoot saw the gang standing a little distance away from his hiding place. Just as he was about to go out to greet them, Jason jogged up to them looking very happy-go-lucky. Changing his mind, Littlefoot shrunk back into the bush but remained poised and keen to listen.

"So here you guys are. I wondered where you lot disappeared to," Jason said puffing, throwing his bag down beside a shrub.

"We've been here for a while now. What took you so long?" Cera said a little demandingly.

"I've literally just come back from the professor's lab. It turns out that that data sample didn't work out so he said he was gonna investigate it a bit more. The funny thing was that the data didn't seem to be of any great relevance to anything. The whole testing thing seemed a little pointless if you ask me," Jason said airily. He then looked around having just noticed something.

"Hey…someone's missing…where's Littlefoot?" Littlefoot flinched a little at Jason discovering his absence.

"Littlefoot? Oh! He had something he needed to do," Ducky said smiling.

"Really? Like what?" Jason asked intrigued.

"We dunno. He had to go talk to someone. That big, bossy-looking human came and got us from Jill and led us out. Littlefoot went somewhere else," Ali replied.

"You what? Littlefoot was taken somewhere else? Well come on! Don't just stand there! Let's go back and get him!" Jason cried desperately as if Littlefoot was in mortal danger.

"No, no Jason! It alright! Littlefoot wanted to go. That human say that he had to talk about something important," Petrie said quickly flying down in front of Jason's face to stop him.

"That's rubbish! Littlefoot's probably being experimented on right now! We have to…" Jason began but Littlefoot ran out from behind them all.

"No, wait! It's okay! I'm here!" he shouted across the meadow to them.

"Littlefoot!" everyone called happily.

"Oh thank goodness!" Jason sighed flopping his shoulders down from their tight, rigid positions and letting his arms dangle limply beside him.

"Hi guys. Sorry to keep you worrying," Littlefoot said as plainly as he could but the thoughts of what Westwood had spoken to him about earlier were burning in his brain. He wanted to launch multiple questions at him but he knew it wasn't best to do it in front of everyone else.

"So just where have you been? And what's all this about you going off to have some 'super' important chat with someone inside the Red Phoenix building?" Jason said with a  rather fatherly tone.

"I was talking to Mr. Westwood about a few things. That's all…nothing serious," Littlefoot said trying to shake off any suspicion.

"You're a terrible liar Littlefoot, you know that?" Jason told him smirking. Littlefoot, however, did not find this very humorous.

"What did you talk about Littlefoot? That human who walked us out said it was important when he came to get us after seeing Jill," Ducky said sweetly.

"Yeah Littlefoot. What did you talk about? What was the big emergency meeting about?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"It's nothing…" Littlefoot said a little snappier than he meant to. Jason was beginning to irritate him and the burning of the questions he was dying to ask were becoming harder to prevent from bursting out.

"Don't lie to me Littlefoot! I can tell it was something of great interest otherwise Westwood would never have summoned you. He's a cold, hard businessman not a telephone hotline to discuss life's problems. What was it about? C'mon, you can tell us," Jason said rather bossily, walking up so he was practically an inch away from Littlefoot's face.

"Jason, I said it was nothing! Just forget it," he replied tersely. He then walked straight through Jason knocking him to one side. The gang were a little surprised to see Littlefoot act in such a matter and instantly became concerned. Jason, on the other hand, had taken this as an offensive challenge.

"Hey! What's your problem?" Jason barked at him as Littlefoot moved to sit in a sheltered area. The warm rays of the sun had made him uncomfortably hot and sticky and with the heat and pressure of suppressing his questions that were very rapidly becoming much more anger-driven.

"What is wrong Littlefoot? Are you sad about something?" Ducky asked caringly following him to his seat.

"No Ducky I'm okay," he said trying hard to produce a smile but it didn't work out as he had envisioned.

"Are you alright Littlefoot? You don't seem yourself at the moment," Ali said soothingly as everyone else brought up the rear.

"C'mon Littlefoot. You can tell us. What's bugging you?" Jason said trying to be friendlier.

"You are bugging me at the moment!" Littlefoot snapped unintentionally. Jason took a step back greatly shocked by his answer. It was definitely not what he had expected him to say.

"Me? What have I done? What have I said to upset you?" Jason said pointing to himself trying to look as innocent as possible.

"It's not what you've said that's upset me. It's what you haven't told me!" Littlefoot snarled standing up and stepping towards him threateningly.

"What? What are you on about? I've been completely open with you. What haven't I told you that you want to know?" Jason said utterly gob-smacked by Littlefoot's sudden enraged confrontation.

"Completely open with us huh? So what about your kind's dark, little secret?" Littlefoot said dangerously. Everyone else looked at each other stunned.

"Wha…? What dark, little secret? I have no idea what you're going on about?" Jason stammered innocently yet nervously. He took another step backwards but Littlefoot followed him up. 

"Mr. Westwood told me about your kind's dark secret that you conveniently forgot to tell everyone," he continued but much more sarcastically.

"WESTWOOD!?! He lies Littlefoot! I honestly don't have a clue what you're going on about! You are officially freaking me out now!" Jason said feeling frightened as he held his hands up in defence.

"Littlefoot? What is this about? What dark secret?" Ali asked plucking up the courage to talk to him.

"Mr. Westwood told me that not all humans can be trusted. In fact, some humans are actually our enemy!" Littlefoot said disgustedly. His eyes narrowed and were transfixed on Jason.

"What? That's crazy! Westwood is talking nonsense! Are you going to believe him over me?!" Jason protested.

"He didn't just tell me Jason; he showed me. On that white computer thing. He showed me a human eating another creature!" Littlefoot blurted angrily.

"WHAT!!!" Jason exclaimed helplessly.

"You heard me! I also spoke to that other bossy human and he said he like the taste of it too!" Littlefoot continued to erupt. Jason just stammered in pure shock unable to produce whole words.

"Wait a minute Littlefoot. You saying that humans are………sharpteeth?!" Petrie said slowly. Jason's eyes widened with dread when Littlefoot stared at him coldly and nodded. The entire gang gasped horrified.

"N-no! That's not true! I promise you it's a lie!" Jason cried desperately. He looked on powerlessly as the rest of the gang instantly zipped behind Littlefoot, now, greatly afraid to stand next to him.

"Guys listen! Humans are not pure carnivores! We can't eat raw meat, it would harm us since we can't digest it!" Jason pleaded with them but he instantly knew this was the wrong thing to say once he'd finished talking.

"But you're not denying that humans actually can eat meat though, are you?" Cera said jumping out from behind Littlefoot. She looked ready to charge.

"No…not exactly. Humans aren't natural born carnivores! I'll admit that we can eat meat but not a fresh kill. We are not sharpteeth! Besides, we only eat a specific type of meat that only exists in our time. Anyway, humans don't just eat meat! You've seen me eating with you guys loadsa times before now! I can eat fruit and other plant material! Heck! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even know what a treestar was! None of you have ever heard me mention the idea of consuming another living creature here right?" Jason said trying to win back his friends' trust but it didn't appear to be working.

"Mr. Westwood said that humans can pretend to eat plants but they also eat meat. What's that about then? He said you were something like omi…omvi…" Littlefoot asked probingly.

"You mean omnivores? Littlefoot! Listen to me! Humans are not carnivores…it's true we are omnivores. Most of us eat both kinds of food. Some can only consume plants like you guys but no human can solely eat meat! They'd die if they did; especially raw meat" Jason said despairingly, "Please guys…I'm not a sharptooth! I can tell you that from the very bottom of my heart that it is the honest truth when I say that I am no threat to you. Please…we were such an unbeatable team before but are you willing to kick me out now…after everything we've been through together and the fun we've had you are prepared to just…discard me because of a basic fact that I failed to tell you?" The gang shuffled uneasily.

"But why did you hide it? Why didn't you tell us before?" Littlefoot asked firmly but he could feel Jason's words getting to him slightly.

"I didn't see the need to. Once I became friends with you guys, it really didn't think it was necessary to tell you. Also, I feared you'd desert me if you knew," Jason said pathetically.

"But how can we trust you? How do we know that you won't try something behind our backs?" Ali asked sternly.

"I guess I can't get you to trust me. Where your trust lies is your decision. All I can do is persuade you. But look at it this way, can any of you say that any humans that happen to be here now have attacked any dinosaurs in the Great Valley in pursuit for food? Have any dinosaurs disappeared without a trace because of us hunting?" Everyone was silent because they couldn't disprove him. Still sensing a nervous edge to the situation, Jason continued.

"And Littlefoot. What about the stories you and the others tell me about your sharptooth friend Chomper? He is a fully-fledged Tyrannosaurus Rex from the description you always gave me of him yet you befriended a creature that is supposed to be your natural born enemy! With that as a rather puzzling yet impressive credential how can you condemn me, a creature that does not hunt for food, that could possibly die if I eat meat raw and can happily survive on plant life as you have? Please, I beg of you! Don't abandon me now! Please………?"

            The gang were greatly touched by Jason's speech but none of them could answer. They all fidgeted unnervingly but remained on the spot. Jason felt his spirits die instantaneously when no one spoke back to him. Deeply hurt, he slowly turned towards the woods.

"Wha…Jason! Where are you going?" Ducky asked worryingly.

"I'm going to the Red Phoenix base. Since I cannot regain your trust, I don't feel I have the right to stay here anymore. If I no longer have friends here, then I obviously don't have a home here either. I never thought that such a large gap could be torn between us by a little fact that could have been managed in a much more controlled manner. I'm truly sorry you had to find out about it this way…really I am…" Jason sighed. He couldn't look at them directly so the best effort he could manage was talking to them from over his shoulder. When no one replied, Jason turned back to his path and started heading for the Forest of Fear.

"Jason, wait!" Littlefoot cried feeling regretful.

"Forget it Littlefoot. I thought we had something going together but obviously I was wrong. I'm sorry I was such a burden on you………" Jason mumbled, barely audible for them to hear. Before he reach the surrounding hedges, Jason feel something wet his hand. Turning back, he found Spike licking his back of his hand happily.

"No Spike…I'm sorry I can't stay. If I am such a large threat to you all then the best thing is for me to leave. Your home will be safe again that way," Jason said bending down to pat him on the head but this made Spike playful smile fade as he could sense Jason's dying spirits radiating through his voice and touch. 

"Goodbye Spike…tell the others farewell for me…maybe they'll listen to you since they can't seem to be able to listen to me…" With that, Jason picked up his bag, swung it over one shoulder and walked into the trees and out of sight.

            The five dinosaurs stood and looked at each as Spike returned to rejoin the group. From the sorrowful look on his face, they all guessed that Jason had left. It was quite a while before anyone said anything but Cera was the first to break the silence.

"Humph! I can't believe the nerve of that kid! He was actually a sharptooth just pretending to eat green food," she said totally disregarding what Jason had said in his plea.

"What Cera?! Were you not listening to what he said? He said that humans could die if they eat meat fresh from a hunt. Jason must have been telling the truth," Littlefoot said aggravated.

"But he admitted it! He said that humans eat meat! Isn't that proof enough?" Cera retorted.

"He was right though. Since the humans have been here, no dinosaurs have disappeared from the Valley mysteriously. So, maybe he was right when he said humans can survive without meat," Ali said calmly.

"I feel terrible…yep, yep, yep…" Ducky said guiltily.

"Me too. Jason no hurt anyone in Great Valley and we all think that he was a sharptooth even when he say he not," Petrie agreed sitting next to Ducky to hold her under a wing.

"This is my fault. I can't believe I let that human talk me into thinking that Jason was a sharptooth," Littlefoot said feeling greatly dishonourable.

"So why did you blow you top and start shouting at him then?" Cera snapped indignantly.

"I…I don't know…I guess I was…kinda…really angry about it. I didn't think that maybe Jason could be telling the truth instead. It was just that horrible thing Mr. Westwood showed me…it looked so real," Littlefoot sighed.

"What did he show you?" Ali asked cautiously.

"It was what looked like a human and it was eating something. It had blood all around its mouth. It really scared me…" Littlefoot said shuddering.

"You see! Obviously humans are sharpteeth if he showed you that," Cera exclaimed.

"I…I don't know what to believe right now…but…I really wish I wasn't so hard on him…" Littlefoot sighed. He looked up at the path Jason had taken. A soft wind made the leaves dance and quiver, slightly obscuring his vision of the dusty trail into the woods.

"So what now? Should we try and get Jason back?" Petrie suggested.

"No. I mean…what if it's a trap to lure us to the humans?" Cera shrilled forewarningly.

"A trap?" Ducky asked confused. It was clear she was in two minds about the entire debate about Jason's true identity.

"What? Don't be so stupid Cera! Why would Jason want to do that? Why, after everything he has done for us, would be suddenly turn on us?" Littlefoot argued hotly.

"Well you seemed to think so too a little while ago," Cera said ignorantly. Littlefoot wanted to reply but he sighed in defeat knowing that she was right. He felt so dirty and undignified that he had thrown himself so fiercely at Jason and backed him into a corner. On top of all the events and things Dominic Westwood had said to him about saving the human race and his tormenting dreams, he was completely lost.

"Well…what now? Should we go after Jason and tell him we're sorry?" Ali asked.

"Sorry? Sorry for what? If anything, he should be apologising to us for lying to us!" Cera snorted angrily.

"But he did not lie Cera. He simply did not tell us that he may be a sharptooth. I do not see that as lying, oh no, no, no," Ducky said nobly. Spike nodded, humbly agreeing with his sister's statement.

"But he gone now. We have to go to human place all by ourselves to get him back," Petrie said nervously.

"Well, you guys can go but I'm not going anywhere near another human now that I know that they are sharpteeth!" Cera blurted.

"Humans are WHAT!?!" a thunderous voice bellowed over them. Cringing at the sheer power of its tone, the gang whirled around to see Mr. Threehorn standing close by with a menacingly furrowed brow. In the distance, more adult dinosaurs were heading their way. Cera cowered under her father's massive head as she turned to face him.

"Erm…hiya Daddy…" she babbled sheepishly, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"What did you just say about that human boy Cera?" Mr. Threehorn grunted looking her straight in the eye with a vice-like gaze that was impossible to escape. Cera gulped as the rest of their parents joined to form a semi-circle in front of them. All six of them felt their throats go dry as the adults towered over them like a prehistoric jury.

"Well Cera? I'm waiting for you to answer me…" Mr. Threehorn said scornfully tapping his front foot with impatience.

"I said that erm…" Cera began with a tiny voice. She was silently hoping that the others would help her out but they remained silent.

"I heard you say something about humans. Now…what was it you said?" Mr. Threehorn continued to thunder with a highly dangerous tone that clearly signifying that lying was definitely not an option.

"I said…erm…that…humans are…sharpteeth…?" she stammered with a nervous grin. On hearing this, Mr. Threehorn roared and all the other adults began quarrelling anxiously.

"Is this true Littlefoot?" Grandpa Longneck asked carefully.

"N-no! I-it's not like that Grandpa!" Littlefoot said uneasily.

"But is it true? What Cera said?" Ducky's mother asked sounding very afraid.

"Well…y-yes! Humans can eat meat but they can't…" he said but it he had already said enough.

"So that human boy you've allow to go gallivanting around our homeland is actually a sharptooth?!" Mr. Threehorn yelled at a pitch that could have shook the earth. Despite their desperate attempts to put their folks' minds at ease, between Littlefoot and Cera, they had to explain the story of how they'd found out that humans had the ability to consume meat. Just by looking at the horrified expressions of their faces, the gang quickly realised that they had failed miserably at clearing Jason and the other humans as the half-ring of grown-ups chattered to each other.

            Pulling themselves out from under their parents' noses, the gang huddled now feeling greatly relieved to be out of the spotlight.

"Way to go Cera! Now we've had to tell the elders that Jason may be a sharptooth!" Littlefoot barked in a low tone so not to be overheard.

"I had no choice! Whenever my dad looks at me like that I can never do anything except tell him the truth. Besides, I'd hate to think what he'd do to me if I had lied," Cera protested quietly.

"What now? I do not think my Mama will let me or Spike see Jason again even if he does come back," Ducky squeaked worryingly.

"Me neither. Mama will have me in nest for days before me get to come out again," Petrie agreed.

"What are we gonna do? I don't think any of our parents will allow us to even look at a human now that we've told them," Ali whispered anxiously. Before anyone could reply, the six of them were summoned over by the elders. As each of them obediently followed their commands, they looked up at their respective parent, but could all tell what they were going to say.

"Cera! You are to come home immediately! You are no longer allowed to enter the meadows without my permission!" Mr. Threehorn said bluntly.

"What! But Daddy…that is so not fair!" Cera whined.

"No buts! As long as those two-legged menaces are roaming around our Great Valley, you will stay by my side at all times! Your new task will be safe guarding the twins," he ordered, as Cera continued to whinge and complain. Turning away from the group, he stomped out with his daughter blabbering at his heels.

"Ducky, Spike. I'm afraid that goes for you two as well," their mother saurolophus said sympathetically.

"But Mama! We did not mean for this to happen! Jason is still our friend!" Ducky said helplessly.

"I am sorry Ducky and although that may be, I do not think it safe for you to see that human again," their mother sighed. Without another word, Ducky and Spike accepted their sentence and glumly followed their mother towards home. Similarly for Petrie and Ali, they were instructed to stay close to their parents and were forbidden to venture anywhere without their presence overshadowing them. As the little field began to clear one by one, Littlefoot hung his head shamefully, awaiting his punishment. It took a long time for his grandparents to actually speak as they gazed at each other and then down onto him.

"Littlefoot…I hope you understand the seriousness of this situation," Grandpa Longneck said caringly but firmly.

"Yes Grandpa," he replied mournfully.

"I know that you see Jason as a very good friend but it is now impossible to remove the fact that his kind have the ability to eat meat. We are glad you told us about this but we also understand that this will now be very hard for you," Grandma Longneck said slowly. Littlefoot nodded in acknowledgement but did not raise his head. He didn't feel justified to look anyone directly in the eye.

"I…I didn't mean for this to happen…I was…I was just angry that's all," Littlefoot said weakly.

"We know that Littlefoot but if Jason is now seen as a risk to those who live here, then you understand that he may not return home with us anymore, don't you?" she continued. Littlefoot nodded.

"I don't think he is coming back anyway Grandma," he said desolately.

"…We…did enjoy his company though…" Grandpa Longneck added warmly. Littlefoot looked up at his grandparents slightly bewildered and offered a small smile. 

"He was a very nice child but now with what has just occurred, I believe that it is best to leave the humans to sort out what they have to do and return to where they came from," Grandma Longneck then said which made Littlefoot's smile quickly fade.

"Come my son. As with the others, you are to stay close to us until all this has settled," his grandfather said finally as he and his partner turned to head out of the field. With a heavy weight upon his heart, Littlefoot slumped behind thinking about the mess he felt he had caused.

"Jason………I'm so sorry…" he whispered to himself, "…I never planned for it to turn out this way…please…forgive me…"


	15. Part 13: Follow Your Guiding Light

Chapter 49: Back to the Herd 

            Meanwhile, walking in completely the opposite direction, Jason dragged his feet through the leaf-litter as he made his way back to the Forest of Fear and the Red Phoenix complex. The day's light had slowly began to fade as the skyline transformed from a calming sea-blue to a warm, fiery orange with glowing, cotton-like clouds that sailed across on the light wind. Feeling betrayed and rejected, Jason knew that once the leaf-eating dinosaurs of the Great Valley had discovered that he had become a murderous, killing machine compared to the humble, peace-loving herbivore he made himself out to be when he first arrived, he would never be able to return to and see his friends again. The thoughts and memories burned in the back of his mind despite the feeling the rising anger that was blazing inside him. He wanted to march straight into Dominic Westwood's office and smack him in the face for ruining everything for him. He didn't even want to look to the Red Phoenix Corporation as a means of refuse from the dinosaurs but he had no choice; having quickly recalled what had occurred last time he had an argument with Littlefoot and the others. As the Forest of Fear came into view, Jason sighed trying to piece together all that had happened ever since the Red Phoenix firm had spread their meddlesome wings and brought their plague of human misconceptions and blindness to the lifestyle of other beings besides themselves.

            As the events swirled around in his head and tortured his brain, Jason came to a halt just short of the stone complex having reached it a little quicker than he had wished. He glanced back down the path of fallen trees which led back into the Great Valley but he knew that that road was now closed to him now that Littlefoot, Cera and the others had found out about humans being omnivores. With one last, defeated puff, Jason looked on at his new home and with no one patrolling the front gate, he pushed open the wire gate and let himself into the complex.

            The halls and corridors were eerily quiet with no one walking around and no voices echoing down them. Nervously, Jason decided to try and find Professor Baxter since he felt that he didn't have another friend in the world and he was the close thing to one at the moment. Wandering down to the old professor's laboratory, Jason found him busying himself with some equipment. Knocking on the window, he watched as the professor whipped around in fright. After a brief second or two to calm himself, Professor Baxter waved him in.

"Jason, dear boy, what brings you here? I did not call for you," the old man said mopping his brow with his handkerchief.

"I know," Jason said deflatedly.

"Why, what's the matter? You look like you've lost something dear to you?" Professor Baxter said reading the glum look on his face.

"You could say that…" Jason replied half-heartedly.

"Come. Why don't you tell your old Professor Baxter what's happened?" he offered smiling warmly. Dropping his bag by the door, Jason sat up on the work surface and told him the story of how Littlefoot discovered about what he described as the humans' "dark, little secret".

"Oh dear, now that was a bit nasty of our director to say such a thing," Professor Baxter said softly.

"A bit nasty?! That oily haired, monkey-suit wearing slimeball you call a boss cost me my friendship with Littlefoot and the others as well as my residence in the most beautiful naturally occurring place in the world! If I ever see his face again I swear I'm gonna smack him one right between the eyes!" Jason yelled leaping up from the work surface.

"Now, now. Calm down son. I understand you are upset but you do realise that they were liable to find out one way or another," Professor Baxter said resting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back down to his seat.

"But it could have been done so much more controlled than that Professor. Littlefoot didn't have to find out like that!" Jason said fidgeting aggravatedly.

"Did you not tell them about this beforehand? Did you not mention this to Littlefoot and your other friends when you first arrived here?" the wise, old man asked calmly.

"Well…no. I guess…once I made friends with them, I didn't see the need to tell them. Besides, I wanted them to accept me. If I had told them 'Oh hi! I'm a human! A creature that can munch on your flesh as well as plants'…I don't think I'd ever get the respect they had for me back then…" Jason said glumly. Just as he had finished speaking, the halogen lights overhead flickered and turned off for a brief second before snapping back to life.

"What's going on?" Jason asked as the computer next to him popped up with an error message once the screen flicked back on.

"Power is failing. We are afraid that if this continues, we will lose all hope of returning back to 2113. We don't have much time left," Professor Baxter said as he worked on the computer.

"Is that why everyone else on the squadron and science teams are never around anymore?" Jason asked.

"Erm…you might say that," he slurred as he continued to punch commands into the computer as it bleeped every now and again. Jason looked around the lab at all the strange equipment that seemed not of this planet.

"Hey professor. What are all these funny-looking gizmos and gadgets around the place? They look like stuff out of a sci-fi movie," he asked picking up the nearest one that looked like a devilish, claw-type weapon.

"Be careful with that!" the old man said flapping like a flightless bird. Jason quickly put it back down and held his hands behind his back smirking.

"Relax professor. You are so uptight nowadays. What's the problem?" he said.

"I am in the middle of a very delicate operation if you don't mind," Professor Baxter puffed, "I am developing tools for our next wave of products for when we return to our rightful time. Now please! Keep your hands to yourself!"

"Alright! Sorry," Jason said defensively.

"Anyway, what do you intend to do now that your dinosaur friends know about humans being omnivores?" Professor Baxter asked as he returned to the computer.

"I dunno. I guess I'm just have to wait here 'til you guys sort out how to get back to the year 2113. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you could find me a place to sleep could you?" Jason asked stretching his arms.

"I think one of the dormitories is free. It's down the hall to the left, room 625. It used to belong to one of our squad members but he passed away as we tried to revive him," the professor pointed out. Jason headed for the door as the bald, little man returned to his work. Sighing, Jason picked up his bag and walked out into the corridors without saying goodbye. Although Professor Baxter was the closest thing he could call a friend at the moment, it sure was no consolation prize for losing Littlefoot's friendship as well as that of the others.

            Jason found room 625 thanks to Professor Baxter's directions. The door was ajar and he slowly pushed it open. Looking inside, he cringed at the musky smell that hung in the air and the dankness of the room made it look more like a concrete prison cell than a dormitory. Shrugging the thought off, he flicked on the light which barely lit the room and dumped his bag next to the scruffy, unmade bed and jumped onto it which bounced him right back. Rubbing the base of his spine, Jason knew this room was no hotel suite but it would be better than sleeping in the jail cell's bed. He looked up at the small, rectangular hole in the wall to his right, which was clearly supposed to be a window, and watched the darkened silhouettes trees of the forest waver against the night sky in the breeze that howled outside and made the temperature of the room plummet. Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Jason looked in his bag and sifted through the items there. Everything in there brought back some means of a memory from his mother's books on botany, which came in handy when he had to create the antidote to Mr. Threehorn's poison he obtained from the Ember Flowers, to his medical kit that the gang used to love poking and prodding eager to know what each instrument did.

Smiling, Jason then spotted a small vial of blue, gelatinous liquid hidden between some broken shell pieces of fruit and his Flash-Bang, joke capsules. Picking it up, Jason looked at it as the viscous liquid swirled around in the glass tube making his smile fade. More memories of his past flooded back as he stared into the vial. The viral outbreak, his siblings' deaths, his escape from the labs in London, his mother's demise and all the events leading up to his arrival to the Great Valley.

"All of this happened because of them…even this measly fluid couldn't prevent it. Their 'miracle cure'…It never saved anyone…" Jason snorted clasping the vial in a tight fist. With dying spirits, Jason dropped the little container into his bag, pushed it under the bed and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The memories scored forever in his brain didn't fade as he hoped they would.

"Mother…" he whispered to himself, "…I miss you so much…I know you said you'd always watch over me…I'm trying so hard but they always seem to get in the way. Mother…I-I want to see you again………I want to speak to you again……I-I want to know……do I make you proud?……" As he silently breathed his last words, Jason drifted off to sleep wondering if, just maybe, she might have heard his questions.

Chapter 50: Signs from the Subconscious 

            Jason awoke with a start sometime later. He sat up and looked around him feeling disorientated.

"Huh? What happened? I guess I must have dozed off," he said to himself. Jason then heard a strange tapping coming from outside his room. Turning to the door, he watched for whatever it was to pass. The person was taking their time in passing and the more Jason listened, the more the footfalling became increasingly distinct; it sounded like a quadruped.

"L-Littlefoot?" Jason said airily continuing to watch the doorway from his seat on the bed. Sure enough, Littlefoot, slowly, came into view and stopped in front of him. Littlefoot turned and looked at Jason with a depressed expression as if he was about to cry.

"Littlefoot? What's the matter?" Jason asked him but Littlefoot didn't reply. He continued to gaze at him with large, moony eyes.

"What are you doing here? Are you still mad at me?" Jason asked still amazed by his presence. Littlefoot shook his head.

"Then what is it? Tell me," Jason pleaded but Littlefoot remained silent as if he had completely lost the ability to speak. Jason looked at Littlefoot unsure of what to say but before he could think, Littlefoot turned and started heading down the corridor, away from him.

"H-hey! Littlefoot! Wait up!" Jason called after him. He swung his legs around and jumped to the ground to follow Littlefoot. As his feet touched the floor, Jason felt a massive force suck him to the ground. Greatly surprised, he struggled with his feet trying desperately to get them to move. Looking up, he could see Littlefoot still walking away from him without a care that he seemed to be cemented to the floor.

"Wh-what the?! Littlefoot! Wait for me!" Jason cried as he tried to yank his ankles off the ground. His bones felt like metal attracted to floor as if it were an electromagnet, refusing to move and Littlefoot showed no signs of slowing.

"Littlefoot! Help me! I can't move!" Jason shouted after him. Just then, something clicked and the multiplied gravitational force imposed on his body was instantly lifted. With the sudden change in force, Jason was sent sprawling out the door and landed on his face. Picking himself up, he saw Littlefoot at the other end of the hall, about to turn the corner. Scrambling to his feet, Jason chased after him but when he was just a few metres from the corner, Littlefoot carried on walking and passed straight through the wall like a ghost. Being a very short distance behind him, Jason tried to stop but collided, head first, with the solid, marble tiled wall.

"Oww! Jeez! What the hell?" he mumbled as he massaged his face. Blinking once or twice, Jason began examining the wall that Littlefoot had walked through. It was real and solid but the young Brontosaurus managed to pass through it as if it where non-existent. Still searching for a clue, Jason then saw a blue symbol flash and appear on the polished surface from out of nowhere. He jumped backwards startled as it hung like a holographic image being projected on the wall. Slowly, Jason raised a hand to touch it. As his hand drew level with the shimmering glyph, it began to glow and grow brighter. After a while, the symbol flashed a brilliant sky-blue and the faded from the wall. Confused, Jason looked on at the wall but quickly hopped backwards in shock when a black hole had erupted out from were the symbol once was. Looking on at the hole, he was horrified to see that the blackness was seeping outwards and consuming the walls, ceiling and floor around him. Jason nervously stepped back from the leaking hole as the dark, shadowy blackness spilled out like ink from an overturned bottle and it was spreading at an exponential rate. Jason turned and fled down the corridor in the opposite direction as the shadowy liquid seemed to give chase.

"Wha-……What is going on here?!" Jason wheezed as he tore around the corner but he was forced to a standstill as he saw the same shadowy substance had managed to head him off and was now approaching from both sides.

"Oh no! What now?" he asked himself as he stood in between the two waves of blackness that was boxing him in. With nowhere to run, Jason screamed and tucked himself into a ball as the liquid flooded over him.

            Squirming and flailing in his suspended prison, Jason felt helpless as he floated in the darkness. In his panic, he suddenly felt something cold under his back, supporting him. Opening his eyes and panting heavily, he looked around to find himself sitting on an illuminated platform that was beautifully decorated, laced with golden rings in an archaic fashion. He leapt to his feet trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Whoa! What is this place?" Jason said stupefy. The platform seemed to be magically suspended as if on invisible strings in the infinite darkness. As he stood attempting to make something out from his blackened surroundings, an ear-splitting screech shot out from the nothingness. Reacting to the sound, Jason ducked as the audible projectile was launched in his direction. From the darkness, more sounds burst out and threw themselves at him from all angles. In amongst the chaotic screaming, bright lights flicked above him and shone like multicoloured stars. The black ceiling was instantly transformed into a wonderful, sparkling sea of twinkling stars all with their own, unique shades of every colour imaginable. All of a sudden, the eerie, daunting shadows became a heavenly ensemble of celestial bodies that shimmered and glowed like gemstones. With a similar transformation, the brain-piercing screeching had instantly evolved into a melodious chorus of angelic voices that serenaded Jason with his very own song his mother used as a lullaby for him. Jason smiled as he stared up at the crystallised, starry sky as the song seemed to touch his soul.

            As the song continued, Jason began to feel a horrible pain in his chest. Raising a hand to the source of the pain, he cringed as it multiplied and became more and more intense. The sheer magnitude of the hurting was becoming unbearable as Jason fell to his knees and folded over trying in anyway possible for the pain to subside. As he writhed in agony, Jason's pendent flickered its tone of blood-red and began to levitate up and over his head. Gazing up at it, he thrust a hand out to grab it, trying hard to ignore the crushing pain in his chest. As he clasped his hand around the ruby, it shone its brilliant colour again before shooting up to the sky to join the other vividly shaded stars in the heavens. Greatly shocked, Jason quickly realised that he was travelling up to the skies with the pendent in his hand. The pain had stopped but it was promptly replaced by an overwhelming fear of dread at the thought of falling to his death. After rocketing skywards at least a hundred feet or perhaps even two hundred, Jason felt the pendent slow to a gradual halt. With the stone still in his hand, he fearfully looked down and gulped at the incredible drop he would face had he let go.

            From his aerial perch, Jason watched as the night sky came alive with shooting stars and speeding comets that burned and laced the indigo skyline with sparkling ribbons of stardust and nebulas. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from the crystal-clear atmosphere.

"Jason…Jason? Are you there?" the voice asked hauntingly.

"Li-Littlefoot?!" Jason replied in awe. No sooner had he mentioned his name, Littlefoot's face appeared in a galaxy swirl. To Jason's surprise, his head was fifty times its normal size, making him look almost God-like.

 "Jason…it's you…I have found you at last…" Littlefoot said.

"What do you mean Littlefoot? You never lost me. I was always here. You knew where I was," Jason answered sympathetically.

"No…I did lose you…I lost you to yourself…" the gigantic Littlefoot head bellowed.

"What?! What are you talking about Littlefoot? You're not making sense!" Jason called out to him.

"The Jason I once knew had disappeared. He was consumed by another creature. I lost a truly unique and wonderful friend to…a sharptooth!" Littlefoot scowled eyeing him dirtily.

"What! No Littlefoot! I'm not a sharptooth! I told you it's not true! Please! I am still your friend!" Jason begged.

"Silence! You are no friend of mine…sharptooth!" Littlefoot thundered. With that, his massive head disappeared from sight leaving Jason suspended in the sky by his pendent. Defeated, Jason sighed and stared around at the magical view around him when, without warning, a comet flew directly passed him and clipped one of his legs. Flinching, Jason turned and saw an entire barrage of stars and meteorites charge straight at him like flaming blades. Trying his hardest to dodge them from his stationary spot in mid-air, all of them came dangerously close to him but he managed to avoid the majority of them. As the penultimate chaotic star zipped passed, Jason turned to see the final star launch itself directly at his torso. Unable to shift himself out of the way in time, the star hit its target and tore right through him and out the other side. Screaming in excruciating pain, Jason released his grip on his pendent and he plummeted to the ground. Building speed, he tried desperately to slow himself down, but to no avail. The floating platform was quickly upon him and he struck it a full speed.

            Jason twitched awkwardly and opened his eyes wearily. Astoundingly, he had survived his freefall and was completely unharmed and the wound inflicted by the spinning star had disappeared. Pushing himself up, Jason found a pair of feet under his nose. Lurching up, he saw a person standing over him but its face was shadowed.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked cautiously getting to his feet.

"You know who I am," the person replied. Jason looked up at the mysterious figure horrified. The person standing in front of him sounded exactly like him.

"Show yourself!" Jason demanded. He was shocked to see that the person obeyed his command. Stepping out from the shadows, the person's features became distinguishable.

"It-It can't be!" Jason stammered backing away from the person having recognised who it was.

"Why can't it be? I am, after all, you're worse enemy," the person said blandly.

"But…you're me!" Jason blabbered still not believing his own eyes.

"That's right. You'd think you're worse enemy would be Captain Hunter? Or Mr. Dominic Westwood perhaps? But no…I am you're worst entity! All because I cost you a little something you treasured for so long and once you found it again, you couldn't hold it," the second figure of Jason said mockingly.

"N-no! This isn't real! You're not real! Get away from me!" Jason screamed.

"Oh I'm real alright. You just haven't woken up to the truth yet," the second Jason said. Just then, ghostly images of Littlefoot and his friends walked out from the blackness and encircled Jason's taunting version of himself. The nasty Jason held out a hand and stroked each them in turn.

"The truth is...you had friends and a family. The things in life you longed for so many years. You played you chances and you lost…you lost them all and you can never get them back!" he laughed in Jason's face. Roaring with anger, the true Jason launched himself at his copy who swiftly dodged him and continued to smirk.

"What's wrong? Can't get a hit? C'mon! Come at me! Show me what you got!!!" it shrilled tauntingly. Turning to attack again, Jason threw a punch that connected hard with the copy's forehead. Although the attack hit, the copy remained unphased; Jason on the other hand had stumbled backwards and fell on one knee clutching his forehead. As the strange pain slowly dissipated, Jason removed his hand from his head and gasped when he found blood smeared on his palm.

"Wha-what's this?! What the hell?" Jason breathed in horror.

"Ha ha ha haa! Quit hitting yourself! Haa ha ha ha!" the fake Jason cackled spitefully. Ignoring his self-inflicted wound, Jason charged and gave the clone as heavily blow to the side but as soon as it connected, he felt an invisible force strike him in the right side of his rib cage. Clutching under his arm but still enraged, Jason tried to attack him again but his evil twin raised his hand to stop him. Before hitting him again, Jason obediently paused and watched as tears began to fill up in the copy's eyes.

"What now? Gonna continue mocking me? I'd save it if I were you," Jason barked sourly.

"No…it's just…" the twin sobbed, "if you don't work with me…we will both die! We have a job to do but we can't seem to sort our differences out." Jason reared back in confusion.

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Jason asked with no sympathy to his voice.

"If we do not work together and fight the true forces of evil, both their world and our world will perish!" it said still weeping. Jason lowered his fists and looked at his replica concerned. Before he could say anything more, the clone pointed up to the sky. Jason followed his finger and was dumbstruck by the sight he saw. The multicoloured stars from overhead were dropping down like meteors and were shooting passed dangerously close to the floating platform.

"Whoa! What's that?!" Jason cried looking up at the falling heavens.

"The end of the world…it has begun…we are doomed now!" the clone said helplessly. As Jason's focus returned to his twin, he had discovered that he had disappeared into thin air. As he searched for him, Jason suddenly heard an airy voice from behind him. Whirling around, he saw someone in the distance.

"Littlefoot!" Jason cried as he saw the young longneck aimlessly wandering around in the darkness, off the platform. Littlefoot slowly turned to face him.

"Jason…" he said as if he'd been drugged. He's vision was unfocused and his movement was sluggish and awkward like his body was possessed. The stars continued to rain down the two of them as a sudden gust of wind erupted from Littlefoot's back. Instantly, Littlefoot was swept off his feet and was blown straight towards Jason. As he shielded his eyes from the breeze, Jason stood poised to catch him. Upon reaching him, Jason opened his arms to receive him but Littlefoot's limp body seem to pass directly into his own.

"Wh-What! Littlefoot?!" Jason called flabbergasted. Just then, one of the falling stars shot down and ploughed straight through the platform. The ground cracked and shattered like glass, leaving a gaping hole in the floating structure.

"Oh crap! What do I do now?!" Jason yelped as more and more stars crashed through the platform destroying more and more of it. Upon the seventh star hitting the platform, the rest of it shattered and broke into tiny shards, completely removing the ground from beneath Jason's feet. Jason screamed as he tumbled down into the black abyss with more and more stars zooming passed his ears. Staring down, Jason saw the stars plummeting into a white light that was gradually growing. Slamming his eyes shut, Jason plunged into the brilliant light and felt his body hit something at phenomenal speed before going completely numb.

Chapter 51: The Night of Fate 

            Jason jumped up in a cold sweat as the impact hit. Dizzy and disorientated, he looked around to find himself back in his borrowed room in the Red Phoenix base.

"Whoa! What happened?" he said sitting up and burying his face in his hands, "What a crazy dream! Wonder what all that was about?" As his senses gradually returned, Jason threw his head back down onto his pillow and stared up at the dirty ceiling but sleep was far from his mind at the moment. Rolling over, Jason pleaded with his brain to switch off so he could doze off again but it was impossible. He glanced up at the hollow window to see a very faint tint of lighter blue coming to the sky beyond the trees; dawn was obviously only a little while away. Jason tossed and turned but nothing could help him get back to sleep. Giving up hope, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to get up but he deliberately lifted his feet from off the floor having remembered the first part of his nightmare. Gingerly, Jason lowered one foot to the ground and touched it with the tip of his trainer; nothing happened. Flattening his first foot, he then placed the second foot on the floor, and again, nothing happened. Now, safely off the bed, Jason stood up and went to move but kicked and dragged his bag out from its hiding place. Thinking someone had snapped at his heels, Jason jumped up and sighed once he realised what had grabbed him. His dream had obviously left him still a little spooked.

            Unhooking the strap from around his ankle, Jason bent down to fasten the clip for the largest compartment just as a large, black box slid into view. Eyeing it slightly bewildered, Jason picked up the laptop but he promptly recalled that the battery pack needed charging. He then got an idea. Since he could no longer sleep, he decided to hand back the portable computer to Professor Baxter, hoping that maybe the little walk would help the Sandman pay him another visit before sunrise. Wandering out into the empty corridors, Jason made his way down to the professor's laboratory. It was like walking down a deserted hospital ward with the bleached, white walls and the polished, marble floor that echoed nosily in the tightly enclosed hall. Ignoring the dreaded feeling he was being watched, Jason continued towards the professor's lab where he hoped to find him still there. After turning the last corner, he found the lab and peered in through one of the windows. The lab was still lit but it was vacant; obviously Professor Baxter had retired to bed and forgotten to turn the light off. Jason stepped inside the lab to hit the light switch when he heard a light buzzing coming from the work surface. Following the sound, it led him to the sole computer unit in the lab which was also left on.

"The old man's getting forgetful," Jason said to himself smiling. Just as he was about to turn it off, Jason then withdrew his hand and had an idea. He placed the laptop next to the unit and looked around for a power cable. He found a loose cable plugged into the wall socket behind the computer but with nothing attached to the other end. After checking that the ports were compatible, Jason plugged the laptop into the power supply and the machine instantly turned on.

            Once the laptop had properly booted up, Jason began searching through the files once again. After a brief flick through the majority of the files he had already seen, Jason tried to access the "High-personnel and other Experiments" folder but he was promptly stopped by the same level four security wall that had popped up last time. Cursing his luck, Jason slapped his thigh for forgetting he couldn't get into this folder. As he made contact with his leg, he then felt something in his pocket. Pulling the strange object out, Jason was amazed to realise that it was Professor Baxter's I.D card. Looking at the tiny print on the card, Jason read "Security Clearance Level 7" on it. With a little leap of excitement, Jason put the I.D. card into a small, rectangular slot in the side of the laptop and it instantly passed the security wall. As the dialog box disappeared and the folder Jason requested popped up on screen, his expression of eagerness quickly became very serious and concerned. The files contained with the folder described disturbing reports and memorandums to various directors and managers of the Red Phoenix Laboratory firm. News and updates about a highly classified production of a biological weapon that was made to destroy and claim dominance over any other weapon known to mankind.

"Following development of our latest product, 'Project Red Phoenix', I have found a suitable candidate to be nominated as a host. Once the virus has gained control of its victim's subconscious and body functions, by using the research knowledge and findings from the excavation team in the Andes, I will integrate both vectors with the energy source provided and our masterpiece will finally be complete," Jason read nervously.

"What is this? Some sicko making biological weapons? How? Why?"

            Jason's attention then turned to the "High Personnel" folder. There, he found information and profiles on some more scientists and a number of the squadron who were used for testing. Jason looked at the people's faces and wondered why they had the same red text of "Deceased" printed across their photos. A large number of them he had seen in the very complex he was standing in so how could they be deceased? Even more strange was that the dates confirming their deaths were blank. Jason became more and more confused as he read through more and more profiles until he came to one in particular.

"Mother…" he breathed silently. He quickly came across his mother's profile which also had the red text "Deceased" stamped across her photograph. Jason sighed as he read her profile and remembered her days working in the labs. As Jason's eyes scored down the written side of the profile, he suddenly became confused by what was there.

"What? What does that mean? This doesn't make sense…how the…?" Jason was suddenly interrupted by a deafening banging sound that reverberated all the way down the halls. Looking out through the window, Jason tried to see what had caused the noise. Shrugging it off, Jason turned back to the laptop but his jaw dropped as he read the next sentence.

"What! No way! She was reported for stealing from the Red Phoenix Corporation! That's impossible…my mother is not a thief!" He read on as the recorded diary spoke of how his mother had allegedly stolen artefacts from the company and was assumed to be selling them off to members of the black market.

"My mother is not a criminal! She'd never…" Jason said in disbelief. The article carried on to describe the testing she and him had undergone when an inexplicable reaction occurred in finding the perfect energy source to power Project Red Phoenix. Jason gasped as he quickly realised what it was they had been after. It was his pendent. His mother had intentionally held back on it and pretended it was a family heirloom. It was, in fact, one of the Stones of Essence and she had realised that but was keeping it from the lab technicians. Jason understood that now from the stories his mother used to tell him when she got back from work but why did she try and hide it from them? Jason's arm then knocked something onto the floor. A little startled at first, he looked down and found a blue book lying on the ground. He instantly recognised it as his mother's diary.

            With what he had pieced together from the profile and his own memory of what his mother said, Jason flicked to the back pages of the diary and read the last entry.

"Those monsters! They lied to me! Everything they told me about this new project was a dirty lie and not one word of truth was spoken to me nor anyone else. This project was not to help out those who were harmed in the ill-fated incident that caused the transport pod to capsize in that angry protestors riot (which I'm also sure is nothing but another lie). I was told that this project was to help the sick by enhancing the anti-virus serum to fight off the infection of the supposed 'super-virus' that has the ability to control human subconscious and effectively manipulate the body. This was also new to me and had I not found out about this through a good friend of mine, who has now been absent for six days in a row now, I would never have joined this circus of freaks in the first place! I was told that Project Red Phoenix was to be the highlight of the company's already massive success after the transport pod 'accident' in a move that the directors had described as 'our phoenix dying in its own flames but will be reborn from its ashes and relive again'. What nonsense!

The only thing they wanted these magical stones for was to power their new weapon and ultimately leave the population of the entire nation to perish before them. It made me incredibly sick to think any human being could wish this kind of plague upon his own kind but the directors clearly didn't give a damn; especially that Westwood character. In the next few days, I will be announcing my resignation from this twisted hall of empty promises and sick ideas on how humans are expected to continue to live. I refuse to have them constantly asking me and my son to undergo these pointless tests but I fear they may have detected some abnormal energy readings from both of us due to the magic ruby constantly being around my neck and my son always very close to me. I will not have them jeopardise our lives for the sake of research and I was especially furious that they had even labelled us as test subjects; Alpha omega-1615 and Alpha omega-1616. I just hope my dear son Jason forgives me for my rash decision and since the death of my two youngest children due to infection from the virus, he has been strong and kept a smiling face. I just hope he can smile at me when I return home and tell him I am unemployed again. I'm so sorry Jason."

Closing the diary, Jason suddenly felt his stomach drop. His mother felt guilty for her working on the project and thought he'd never forgive her for it.

"Mother. I don't hate you for doing just things," Jason sighed, "I am glad you decided to give it up even though everything we seemed to get from them was so good. I can now see why you hid the stone from them and although it was very reckless, I admire your bravery." As Jason thought about his mother's noble way of trying to cease the Red Phoenix from continuing there plans, he reached up to hold his pendent. He was horrified to realise that his hand had clasped around nothing but air.

"Huh? What the…? Where's my pendent?!" he cried. Something then blipped next to him. Turning towards the noise Jason found the computer screen next to him was on with rolling graphs scrolled across the screen. Taking a closer look, Jason then realised that it was a live, physiological data recording. Reading the screen, Jason was horrified to see three names sectioned to their own set of graphs that were monitoring their vital signs and energy reading. The three names read, "Lt. Jill Fielding, Littlefoot and Jason" and next to them read a figure that Jason deduced to be the distance from the recording console since his read "0m" and Jill's read "2.4m". Still in shock, Jason watched the red graph under his name that was assigned to measure "Heart Rate" as the little line jumped up and down. Curiously, Jason placed his hand on his chest and to his shock, the synchronisation between the blipping line and his own heartbeat was perfect.

"What the hell? I've been bugged somewhere! My vitals are being scanned twenty-four hours a day and so are Littlefoot's!" Jason exclaimed throwing his hand over his mouth in terror as he watched Littlefoot's lifelines jump and drop, measuring every energy change and beat of his heart. Jason felt completely lost at sea and held his head in a dazed confusion. As his hand brushed passed his ear, his fingers knocked on something and he noticed the graphs bump unnaturally. Perplexed, he then felt the Frequency Amplifier behind his ear and then it struck him. Watching his vital scans, Jason tapped the little machine and he watched the graphs hiccup but quickly return to normal.

"This device isn't a communicating machine…it's a tracker bug! This was a set-up…to read my body's internal function like a book! This stupid thing must be reading my vitals directly from the impulses sent from my brain!" Jason said slowly. With that, he snatched the gadget from behind his ear and threw it on the ground. The computer bleeped warning messages on the screen as Jason crushed it under his foot indicating that he had suddenly died.

"Those dirty low-lives! They'll regret this! That must mean they've bugged Littlefoot too. They couldn't have put anything on him externally or someone's bound to notice…so maybe he's got something inside him…nano-readers maybe? I gotta warn him but first things first…I gotta find my pendent!"

Cramming his mother's diary into his pocket, Jason sprinted out of the lab to return to his room. Once he got there, he searched high and low for his pendent but it was nowhere to be seen. In his panic, there was a sudden booming coming from down the hall. Jason gasped and whirled around at the noise. It sounded as if something had broken. Walking out into the corridor, Jason wandered down to try and find the source. As he turned down into the Recovery Wing, Jason stepped cautiously down the narrow corridor. His clapping footsteps were making him feel self-conscious and nervous as he looked up at the doors and their Greek symbols and numbers.

            Suddenly, there was another loud crack and the entire area turned blindingly bright. Jason shielded his eyes from the glare as the incredible light slowly dissipated. Slowly lowering his arms from his face, Jason looked up at his surroundings but nothing had changed. As he stood up straight and started to move, there was a sound from behind him as if something had burst into flames. Spinning around, Jason saw the golden symbols on the doors were alight with an unnatural blue flame. Feeling very frightened, Jason stepped backwards as the doors suddenly started banging and arching outwards. It was as if something from the inside was trying desperately to break out. Without warning, one of the door next to Jason flew open, knocking him to the ground in its swing. Looking up, Jason found himself at the feet of a sickly-looking, pale creature in a human form. Its eyes were glazed over and had no irises and its decaying skin was grey, covered in boils and hanging loosely off its dirty-hay, coloured bones. It was dressed in Red Phoenix squadron clothing..

"Oh my God! What the hell is that thing?!" Jason gasped terrified. He crawled slowly backwards as the creature trudged towards him. Jason screamed as the creature tried to fall on him but he rolled out of the way. Standing up and the creature doing likewise, Jason turned and found more of the same sort of monsters had broken out of their prisons from behind him. He was now trapped in between four of them as they approached from both directions.

            Paralysed by fear, Jason felt a cold, slimy hand rest on his shoulder. Screaming, he turned and batted it off as the monster tried to sink its teeth into the back of his neck. Seeing his terrified reaction seemed to make the creatures advance on him faster as they all lunged at him. Jason screamed just as another loud crack, in front of him, was heard a few doors down followed quickly by a voice.

"Jason! Get down!" it yelled. Obeying immediately, Jason dropped to the floor as gunshots sounded from the opposite end of the recovery wing. A few shots later, Jason found the creatures slumped in spine-breaking positions, all over the place. He looked up at the marksman who had saved him and he was overjoyed to see Jill, lying on the floor sideways with a handgun pointing at where she was shooting.

"Jill!" he cried. She jumped up from the floor and quickly ran over to him.

"Jason! Are you alright?" Jill asked helping him to his feet.

"Yeah I'm okay. You're all healed up!" Jason said happily.

"Uh huh! Took a little longer than expected but I'm back to full health," Jill replied with a smile.

"What the hell are these thing?" Jason said looking down on the creatures sprawled out on the ground.

"I don't have a clue but something funny's going on. Once I woke up, I found a note by my bed and this handgun on top of it saying to trust no one. It wasn't even signed off," Jill said seriously. Jason nodded but then shrieked as something grabbed his ankle. Looking down, one of the floored creatures had snatched at his heel and was trying to bite him.

"G-get offa me!" Jason cried struggling with monster. Jill pointed the gun at the creature and pulled the trigger. The bullet travelled straight through the creature's torso and it came to a writhing stop.

"What happened? It was dead but it started moving again!" Jason panted.

"I don't know," Jill replied a little shaken. Then, to their surprise, the creatures started moaning and moved again. Jumping backwards out of their reach, they watched them in horror as they pulled themselves across the floor with their decaying arms. Looking at each other dumbfounded, more bangs came from the surrounding doors.

"C'mon! Let's get outta here!" Jill called as she ran down the corridor. Nodding, Jason followed her as more monstrous creatures destroyed their doors and tumbled out into the halls. Leaping over them, Jason and Jill sprinted through the complex trying to get away from the rampaging monsters that were growling and moaning behind them from round the last corner they had past.

"What's going on here! This place is going haywire!" Jason panted as he stopped off in his room to grab his bag.

"No idea kid but let's not stay and find out! Let's find the professor and get out of here," Jill shouted as she took out two more monsters that appeared from around the corner.

As Jason stuffed his mother's diary into his bag, he clipped it up and they both headed for the professor's lab.

            They quickly found Professor Baxter's lab and it was exactly how Jason had left it. Jill forced her way in but she couldn't see him.

"Professor Baxter!" she called into the lab as Jason appeared.

"Is he not here?" Jason asked nervously. Just then, something struck both of them from behind and they fell to the floor. Turning around, they both found Professor Baxter standing over them, he had picked up the handgun Jill had dropped and was pointing it at them.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Such reckless behaviour! I would never expect that sort of thing from our very own lieutenant and son of my most trusted employee," the old man grinned.

"Professor! What the hell are you doing?! We've got to get outta here!" Jason cried.

"Silence! Do you really think I'm going to let you two destroy anymore of my creations? Not that they can be anyway," Professor Baxter barked angrily.

"Creations? You made those sick things out there?" Jill asked bewildered.

"Yes. My invincible army powered by the Stones of Essence. Remarkable isn't it? We have finally unmasked the legend and obtained the perpetual energy source we had been searching for, for so long!" the old man chattered excitedly.

"So you were in on this scheme from the beginning. I never would have guessed," Jill barked ignorantly.

"Funny old world isn't it? You just can't trust anyone nowadays," Professor Baxter said flatly.

"I can't believe this. After everything, you're changing sides now?" Jason exclaimed but the professor chuckled malevolently.

"Change sides? My dear boy, I don't recall saying that I was on yours!" Jason fell silent but curse the professor for saying such a thing.

"You maniac! Do you realise that you are going to kill everyone with those 'creations' of yours!" Jill shouted angrily. She was ready to pounce on him but pushed the gun a little closer to her.

"This world matters none to me! I couldn't care less what happens to this realm. Those pathetic, overgrown reptiles will all become extinct soon enough anyway," Professor Baxter snorted indignantly.

"You…you…!!!" Jason said grinding his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Careful lad. I don't want to have to harm you," the professor warned as he backed towards the large viewing window.

"You two could never see the world me and our beloved director have envisioned. A perfect world ruled by us and with an invincible army of freaks and mutants to obey our every command! And with the Chronos Doorway at our disposal, we can change the course of history as we see fit!" the old man exclaimed.

"So that's what this is about? World domination and the conquest of the human race! You're insane!" Jason shouted.

"Is it that hard to envision? Our director is a genius! A leader to rule over the humans like a god! No person has ever achieved such a status and we are going to be the first. We'll go down in history as the true rulers of the world!" he continued to blabber.

"Your both crazy…no one will stand for this crap!" Jill yelled enraged.

"Maybe not now but they will soon. It's a shame neither of you two will be around to witness it as I will soon be adding you to my fleet of unstoppable soldiers." Slowly, the professor raised the gun to fire but Jill and Jason were focused on something passed him. A deafening screech filled the halls and forced the professor to spin around. As he turned to face the sound, a two-legged, dinosaur type creature smashed through the viewing window and pounced on Professor Baxter. The old man screamed as his own creation dug its claws into his torso and shredded him to pieces. Jason buried his head into Jill as the professor lay completely decimated in a growing puddle of blood. Holding him, Jill looked up fretfully at the creature that looked like a velociraptor but its body was decaying with parts of its flesh missing and bones of its skeleton showing. Once it had finished mauling the professor, the raptor looked up at Jason and Jill and roared. With no means of defence, they held each other close as it attacked.

            The raptor jumped to pounce on them just as someone crashed through the door and opened fire on the creature. Squealing, the raptor tumbled into the examination table and lay squirming on the ground.

"Lieutenant Fielding! Thank God you're alright!" a male voice sounded over them.

"Sergeant Stone?! Where the hell have you been?" she cried happy to see him.

"No time to explain. C'mon! Let's go!" he shouted as he and Zephyr took off down the corridor towards the exit. Helping Jason up, both of them followed Stone and Zephyr out of the lab. Just before the exit, they found the sergeant rummaging around in a cupboard.

"Here!" he called and chucked the lieutenant a heavy rifle and a pistol with some spare ammo clips.

"Thanks," she replied. They both nodded and led Jason out of the complex and back into the Great Valley.


	16. Part 14: Rising from the Phoenix's Ashes

Chapter 52: Project Red Phoenix Revealed 

            Dawn had already broken in the Great Valley as Jason took the lead and showed Stone, Jill and Zephyr into what he used to call his homeland.

"Where are we heading?" Stone asked as they passed from one field to the next.

"I've gotta find Grandma and Grandpa and let them in on all this. Their home is in now in grave danger! I've got to warn them!" Jason explained as they ploughed through a small thicket. Some time later, Jason arrived at Littlefoot's home but neither Littlefoot nor his grandparents were there.

"Is this it? Is this where you stayed with Littlefoot?" Jill asked marvelling at the beauty of the little enclosure.

"Uh huh. Littlefoot! Grandma? Grandpa?" Jason called but there was no answer.

"So, where are they kid?" Stone asked patting Zephyr.

"I…I don't know. Can't think why'd they take off this early," Jason said hurryingly. Something then jumped to mind.

"Oh of course! Ali's herd is moving out this morning! They probably went to see them off," Jason exclaimed snapping his fingers.

"Wh-Hey! Jason! Where are you going?!" Jill called after him as he shot off without warning.

"To the Green Meadow…we can probably find them there!" Jason shouted back. Jill and Sergeant Stone looked at each other confused.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

"I don't know but…hey! Zephyr! Where are you going?" Stone shouted after his dog who had sprinted after Jason. Looking at each again, Jill smiled,

"Looks like he's made a decision. I'm with the dog! Let's go!" With one last smirk, Stone charged after Jill towards the Green Meadow.

            Jason found Littlefoot, his grandparents, his friends and their families standing in the meadow along with some more dinosaurs about to see Ali's herd off on their way. None of them had seen him yet but he did hold back in getting their attention.

"Littlefoot! Guys!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. No one heard him due to the loud chattering of the dinosaurs. Frustrated, Jason tried to get closer.

            On the other side of the meadow, unaware of Jason's presence behind him, Littlefoot stood with his friends chatting to Ali.

"Well…I guess this is it," Littlefoot sighed but smiled. He was trying hard to hide his sadness for her leaving.

"I guess but at least we got to spend sometime together," Ali said as happily as she could, "I'll miss you all."

"Too bad Jason not here to say goodbye," Petrie said sadly.

"Yes. I hope he is okay," Ducky said in the same downed tone.

"Not now guys! We are supposed to be seeing Ali off! Besides, we're not allow to even hear his voice let alone see him again," Cera said. No sooner had she said that, a loud piercing, screeching noise erupted over the entire meadow. Everyone flinched at the sound.

"What that?" Petrie asked worried.

"Hang on…only one guy can make that noise!" Littlefoot said slowly. They all turned to look to where the sound had come from.

"I…don't believe it!" Littlefoot said smiling widely.

"It's Jason!" Ali called. Jason was running towards them whistling.

"What's he doing here?" Cera called flabbergasted.

"Lookie Dinee! Is-a Two-Legs!" Dana cried ecstatically.

"Yay! Two-ie Two-Legs!" Dinah squeaked. The threehorn twins and the gang started to head towards Jason but every one of their parents stepped in front of them, blocking them off.

"Guys! Thank God I found you!" Jason exclaimed but skidded to a halt as the wall of adults towered over him.

"What are you doing here sharptooth!" Mr. Threehorn bellowed menacingly.

"Oh…so you've told them," Jason said glumly. The group merely shuffled and didn't say a word.

"Is this true Jason? Are you a sharptooth?" Grandma Longneck asked unthreateningly.

"Not exactly. It's more of a half-truth. I can eat meat but I can't eat a fresh kill. What am I saying! That's not important, I have some very urgent news. You are all in danger!" Jason said forebodingly.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked reading the terrified look on his face.

"There was an incident at the Red Phoenix complex over in the Forest of Fear and…" he began.

"The Forest of Fear?! You mean those humans were that close to our Great Valley all along?!" Mr. Threehorn shouted lividly.

"Yes but…Never mind about that! They will be here any minute! We have to get out of here!" Jason cried warningly.

"What do you…" Grandpa started but he was interrupted by the appearance of Jill, Sergeant Stone and Zephyr.

"Even more humans!" Mr. Threehorn roared. Sergeant Stone raised his rifle in retaliation but Jill knocked it back down.

"What is going on here?" Ali's leader asked impatiently.

"Those creatures are coming! You are all in danger if you remain here!" Jill called to them. The gang's eyes lit up when they saw Jill alive and well but everyone else chattered nervously upon hearing her words.

"Wait…where's that other bossy human?" Cera asked but quickly shrunk back as her father glowered at her.

"Cap'n Hunter? We don't know. He's been missing for a while now and no one's seen him," Stone replied patting Zephyr to calm him.

"What about these creatures? What are they?" Ali's mother asked.

"I don't know. Mutants, they look like humans but they have a taste for blood," the sergeant said openly which instantly sparked a tremendous uproar.

"Idiot! Well done! Herbivores remember?" Jill hissed slapping the back of his head.

"So humans are meat-eaters!" Mr. Threehorn yelled leaping forward to attack.

"N-no! These things aren't human; they are mutants. Experiments created by Professor Baxter! They look like humans but they do eat meat! That's why we have to leave right now!" Jason warned.

"Absolutely insane! You are expecting us to believe this? After everything your kind has done to us dinosaurs you expect us to just abandon our home? How dare you!!!" Mr. Threehorn continued to argue.

"Please! You have to understand…we are all in trouble if we stay here. Those monsters will come and kill us all!" Jason said trying desperately to get through to them.

"Grandpa? I don't think Jason is lying about this. He is never this upset," Littlefoot said weakly. Nodding in acknowledgement, Grandpa Longneck allowed Jason to explain what had happened in the early hours of the morning but when he had finished, it brought great concern to the entire group.

"So, you see, Professor Baxter and Westwood were in on this together," Jason said finally.

"Where is Professor Baxter now?" Littlefoot asked.

"He's dead. Killed by one of his own creations," Jill said shamefully.

"But those things are liable to be here any minute," Sergeant Stone said blandly.

"So what do you propose we do?" Ducky's mother asked nervously hugging Ducky and Spike closely.

"We should…" Jill started but something was rustling from the bush behind her. Whirling around, and the dinosaurs looking up, Jill and Sergeant Stone held their guns at the bushes waiting for whatever was behind it to emerge.

"Captain Hunter!" both Jill and Stone chanted lowering their weapons.

"At ease troops. We are in a state of red alert," the burly man said as he approached the group. Everyone seemed intimidated by his presence but Jason narrowed his eyes threateningly. Without a word, he started strolling up to him to meet him half way.

"Jason?" Littlefoot asked stepping forward. He didn't answer but continued to march straight at him. Rolling his bag off his shoulders, Jason threw it to one side just as they were coming face-to-face. Still confused by his sudden movement, Jill, Stone and the dinosaurs looked on as both of them headed straight for each other. As soon Captain Hunter was two strides away from him, Jason clenched his fist and swung it, full-speed, at his face which connected heavily and echoed over the field with a sickening crack. The crowd gasped as Hunter's head flinched with the blow but his focus readjusted immediately and he looked at him unphased.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jason growled staring him directly in the eye. Hunter didn't answer but he swiftly clasped his hand around Jason's throat and held him at arm's length.

"Don't bug me kid. I've been through hell and back to survive this long so I'm not going to tolerate it from a pipsqueak like you," Hunter said flatly.

"You're with them! You're part of all this crap!" Jason barked bitterly.

"No…not me," Hunter said. Jason batted the captain's hand away from his neck and took a step back.

"I don't believe you," he said with scowling eyes.

"Believe what you want but I'm not here to argue with you. I came here to brief you all on the current situation," Hunter said walking past him. Jason turned and picked up his bag before rejoining the group. As he walked back, he rubbed his throbbing knuckles gingerly quite astounded by the rigidity of the captain's jaw.

"So what's happening Captain?" Stone asked after saluting.

"The Red Phoenix Corporation is in jeopardy. It's experiments have now been completed thanks to the three Stones of Essence Westwood has in his possession. Jill, your ring was stolen in the dead of the night when you were recovering as was your pendent Jason," Hunter reported.

"But what about the third stone? How did he get Littlefoot's sapphire?" Jason asked.

"I followed Littlefoot to his home after his latest discussion with Westwood. The professor had a set of nano-tracers injected into his bloodstream and I used a tracker to find him. He turned over his stone without knowing what it would be used for," Hunter droned monotonically. Jason turned to Littlefoot.

"You gave away your stone? Just like that?!" he said greatly shocked.

"I thought I was doing the right thing. Mr. Westwood said that I would be saving the humans if I did so I let him take it from me," Littlefoot protested innocently.

"So this is your fault! If you knew what was going on, why did you co-operate with them!" Jason snapped bitterly. Hunter lowered his head.

"It's not like that…I was blackmailed into doing it. It's not like I wanted to help them in their sick plot to overthrow the Earth! I'm not that blind!" Hunter said shamefully.

"So why did you do it?" Ali asked softly sensing some pain behind his words. Hunter sighed heavily.

"They have my wife and daughter in life-support chambers in the facility. They were infected with the virus and Westwood said he would cure them if I co-operated in their scheme. They had me pinned against the wall. They are my family and I couldn't bring myself to sacrifice their lives if I knew there was a way to revive them. Westwood promised me the antidote to the virus but I had to do everything he said right down to the smallest detail. If I failed, they would terminate the experiment and end my family's lives. Do you really think I would help a couple of madmen claim global domination if I could prevent it?! I would have shot them both right then and there…"

"But you didn't did you. You couldn't…" Jill said calmly.

"They are the only ones who can operate the bloody machines. I wouldn't have a damn clue where to begin and I didn't want to run the risk of losing my family! They are the only ones that keep me sane in this screwed up world we have to call a home! As payment, I sold out my own team to be butchered and experimented on like play-toys!" Hunter shouted.

"But what about those two? Why did they survive?" Cera asked pointing to Stone and Jill.

"I put Sergeant Stone on a mission out in the wilderness myself. I told Westwood he was missing in action; perhaps even dead, so they disregarded him. Jill was already in the Red Phoenix recovery wing recuperating from her coma. I made sure all drug treatment went through me so she was not injected with anything funny. Apart from that, I couldn't protect the others. If I started informing too many others, Westwood would have found out eventually and then he would switch off my family's life support." The area fell silent as Hunter sighed again in defeat.

"Listen Captain…I'm sorry for…hitting you. I guess I'm just really worked up over all this. I never stopped to think that there were others that this affected besides me," Jason said slowly.

"Don't worry about it kid. We've still got to think what to do about these creatures. It's not too late to stop this insanity," Hunter said nobly.

"Yeah I guess…" Jason said but then noticed something on the captain's shoulder, "Hey! What's that?" Hunter looked to where Jason was pointing and peeled a thick, red, gelatinous goo from off his uniform.

"Ewww! What's that stuff?" Cera asked cringing at the sight of it as it dropped onto the grass.

"It looks like blood," Jill said examining it.

"Probably is. It must have splashed on me when I killed one of those creatures when I returned to base. Like stepping into hell's den in that place," Hunter said.

"It can't be. That's not right," Jason said cautiously.

"Why not Jason?" Grandpa Longneck asked from over him.

"Blood can't coagulated like that outside of the body. It's not possible."

"Why not kid? It's right there isn't it, so what's the deal?" Stone said blandly.

"Because blood doesn't coagulate like that until after you're dead…" Jason said darkly. Everyone began to chatter nervously on hearing this, giving the gang a chance to step out from behind the barrier their folks have formed between them and the humans.

"So, you're saying that everyone back in the complex is dead?" Stone asked.

"There has to be more to it then just that. They must have some vector or life-support keeping them going. They just can't have stood up and started walking around like that," Jill said curiously.

"The stones maybe?" Littlefoot suggested.

"Perhaps but they are all diseased. It looks as if they have been really ill recently," Jason said trying to piece everything together. Suddenly, Hunter bellowed angrily and started storming around.

"My entire squadron was poisoned by that lunatic! I can't believe I let him trap me like that!" he roared.

"It's okay Captain. It was a dirty trick to blackmail you like that but it's not your fault. Just try to calm down," Jill said resting a hand on his shoulder but he batted her off.

"I've never been played for such a fool before and I let him get to me! That sicko! Damn that……" Hunter was cut short by a loud gunshot echoing over the meadow. Everyone looked on in sheer horror as Hunter lurched forward once the shot had dissipated and rang off into the Valley. Hunter turned just as another shot hit him in the stomach. More and more gunfire erupted over them as Hunter screamed in pain and then slumped over onto his front completely immobile.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your superiors David. Words like that can get you in trouble," a voice said from the far end of the field. Everyone whirled around to see Dominic Westwood standing there with a pistol pointing to where Hunter had fallen.

"Westwood!!!" Jason cried both in shock and in anger. Jill and Stone raised their weapons to him but withheld their fire.

"The Captain! Why did you…!!!" Stone screamed. His finger felt itchy and hot as it hovered over the trigger of his rifle.

"Alas, my finger must have slipped. Shame though, I thought Hunter would have wanted in on such a beautiful plan," Westwood said smugly placing the pistol in his pocket.

"You backed him into a corner you greasy rat! You held his family ransom and forced him to go along with your dirty scheme," Jason yelled.

"He had made his decision. I only told him that there would be a price to pay if he didn't. I didn't force him…I merely guided him to see things my way. I never thought he'd come running to you bunch of misfits like a coward!" Westwood said smiling.

"That's crap! He was a courageous leader to our squadron but he was still human! How could you murder him in cold-blood like that?!" Jill roared but Westwood just laughed at her.

"Leader? He couldn't lead ants to a picnic. Him, you and your squadron are the most impressive formation of puppets I have ever seen. You have your mighty captain to thank for selling you to me and lead you all blindly onto centre stage," he said slickly.

"Damn you!" Stone screamed unable to suppress his rage any longer, he fired his rifle which forced everyone to dive for cover. After emptying an entire, one hundred round magazine at Westwood, Stone was flabbergasted to see Westwood standing in the same spot completely unharmed.

"What! I ploughed a full clip into him! How can he still be standing?" Stone exclaimed.

"Waste of metal my boy. Did you really think I'd come to you without some means of protection?" Westwood said.

"What the hell? He couldn't have missed every single shot," Jason said picking himself up from in between Spike and Cera. Westwood then reached into his pocket and pulled out three triangular stones all glowing their respective colours. He held them out to the audience of dinosaurs and humans.

"Quite remarkable these little gems. Hard to believe that such tiny jewels can hold such a great power by just coming together," he grinned.

"The stones! He's found out how to manipulate their powers," Jill said forewarningly.

"They must have formed a barrier around him deflecting every bullet," Jason said worryingly.

"The best part is that this isn't even their full potential. Once I make them merge into one form, the power I have longed for will be unleashed!" Westwood called triumphantly.

"That's where you're wrong Westwood!" Littlefoot shouted to him, "There is only one way to get the stones to become one and you don't know it! You may have got our stones and made me tell you who had them but I didn't tell you how to make the final form!" Jason looked at him in shock but he just smiled at him telling Jason to trust him.

"That wouldn't be the melody Jason has been playing for the past few days would it?" Westwood replied. Littlefoot felt his stomach drop uncomfortably.

"Afraid I've beaten you to that answer kiddo. I must express my gratitude to you Littlefoot. None of this would have been possible without your help," Westwood said clapping his hands. Littlefoot felt his anger growing.

"Oh yeah! Well even if you do know, Jason will never play the song to help you. You may have tricked me but you won't get to him!" Littlefoot bellowed which made everyone flinch in great surprise. He turned to Jason who nodded and smiled. Despite his brave argument, Westwood's smile ceased to fade.

"Admirable Littlefoot. You are indeed courageous and I commend you for that but I am afraid I have outdone you again," the smug businessman said pulling a small device out of the breast pocket of his jacket.

"I am already aware that you have caught onto the professor's little device Jason but you were just a bit too late. Not only did that gadget read your vital signs directly from your brain's impulse, it has recorded every single word you have spoken since you got it including this little dialogue," he said playing a digital recording of Jason's tearful soliloquy in the clearing just before the raptor's attack. Once it had finished, Jason clenched his fists as a surge of rage rushed through him which seemed to feed Westwood's delight.

"A wonder; modern technology. To think, this little episode of yours is what caused you your friendship…Ironic that! Well, this and one of my personal favourite zombie movies of all time. The perfect resources for manipulating just a caring, naive soul," he droned sappily.

"It was you who told Littlefoot all that! You made us turn against Jason and made us think he was a sharptooth!" Ali cried feeling very guilty.

"That's the buy-line my dear. You do catch on quick. I was also responsible for provoking the velociraptor attack on your homeland but injecting them with a special serum. I'm sure you know that such mindless beasts only hunt for food when needed but I brought out their full rage and turned them into killing machines. And you, my dear lieutenant, followed your orders like a good, little soldier and destroyed their only means of defence. Well done! I think another promotion should be thrown your way," Westwood said drolly.

"Shut it you patronising creep! You've ruined everything for everyone! You've plagued our world and now you're gonna do it to this one too?! I'll make you sorry to came here!" Jason screamed and charged at him. The gang were first to react and quickly followed with Jill, Stone, Zephyr and the adult dinosaurs bring up the rear.

            Westwood stood his ground and held the stones up to the sky. All three of them twinkled and flashed their shades of red, blue and green before a loud sound of moaning came into earshot. Skidding to a halt, Jason watched as the same, zombified creatures trudged and shuffled their way through the bushes and out into the field.

"Aaaarrggghhh! What are those things?" Cera screeched as they drew level with Jason.

"Those are the monsters Professor Baxter made in the labs. They are the dead corpses of the Red Phoenix squadron and scientists," Jason said backing away slowly.

"Correct. They were of no used to me anymore so I decided they would be the first of my undead army in my conquest of the world. Be careful though, they are highly infectious beings. One bite or even a scratch from them and you will be infected too," Westwood said smirking.

"Infected? They are carriers of a disease?" Jill asked raising her gun.

"Not just any disease. My virus. The same virus that plagued London all those years ago. I was going to sell off the only cure for it once I killed off the other directors of the company. I was going to make millions but I underestimated the vicious nature of the virus and it killed off more people than I could save. Still, it has acted as the perfect catalyst to re-animate the bodies of these freaks and with the power of these stones enabling me to control their puny minds, I will be invincible!" Westwood continued. No one said anything as the twisted man gave the order for his fleet of zombies to attack. As they all lumbered forwards, Jill and Stone opened fire on them trying to hold them off. Littlefoot, Jason and the others stood behind them watching in fear as more bizarre and decaying creatures ranging from humans to raptors poured out of the bushes.

"Jeez! There's so many of them!" Jill shouted as he slapped another magazine into her gun.

"I'm using up way too much ammo here! There are so many of them!" Stone complained as he took down another four creatures.

"What are we going to do?" Ducky cried as they backed away from the firefight.

"Me not like this!" Petrie exclaimed helplessly as he looked on in shock.

"Look! They are getting back up!" Ali gasped. Everyone looked out to the battle to see that the zombies that had fallen were picking themselves back up and were continuing to advance on them.

"This is hopeless! We're wasting ammo shooting these things!" Jill announced reloading. Westwood looked on and laughed.

"It's useless to resist! Give up now! My army is unbeatable!" he cackled evilly.

"This is pointless. How the hell are we supposed to kill something that's already dead?" Stone whined as he received a spare clip from Jill. Jason shook his head sorrowfully.

"Can this really be it? Is this the fate we are doomed to have laid upon us?" he whispered to him. He then looked at Zephyr who had come back to him limping. His mouth was covered in coagulated blood from the undead monsters and he had dragged one of them to his feet with a massive bite mark to the creature's neck.

"Aaaarrrrgggghhh!!! What's that four-legged thing doing? Why is it bringing it over here? It's only just going to get up again!" Cera screamed and dashed behind Spike. Jason knelt down next to the creature and found that Zephyr had managed to remove a section of zombie's spine at the base of its neck. Jason knocked it cautiously with his foot but it remained lifeless. To his surprise, the body then decayed and crumbled into dust and disappeared. Suddenly, Jason had an idea and began rummaging in his bag's side pocket.

            Running up to Jill and Stone, he told them to stop firing.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" the sergeant shouted to him.

"Just stop firing!" Jason yelled. He turned to Jill who nodded and lowered her weapon. As Stone did the same, Westwood commanded his army to stop.

"Finally decided to give up? I told you, my undead troops are invincible," he laughed but Jason smiled sneakily.

"You may have being able to resurrect the dead Westwood but their bodies still operate like any other living creature," Jason said smugly.

"That's where you're wrong kid. You can't kill something that is no longer alive. The energy source from the stones is infinite so they will never be defeated," Westwood bellowed.

"Really?" Jason replied coolly.

"Jason! No!" Littlefoot called to him.

"Stay back Littlefoot!" Jason commanded as he approached the nearest zombie.

"So you are going to sacrifice yourself to me. A wise decision as resistance is futile," Westwood said as he ordered the zombie Jason was walking up to to attack him. Once it was within striking distance, the zombie lunged at him but Jason was ready. Flicking out his penknife, Jason ducked the zombie's attack and stuck the blade firmly in the base of its neck and slit it. The zombie instantly cringed and fell to the floor before disintegrating into dust as Zephyr's victim had done beforehand. The crowd gasped in shock as did Westwood.

Backing away to rejoin the others, Jason smiled triumphantly.

"H-how could…?!" Westwood stammered utterly stunned at the death of his creature.

"Your zombies may be able to withstand physical damage to their bodies and the stones may keep reviving them with limitless energy but they can't operate if the main channel of energy is severed. The energy must be travelling through their nervous system in order to get their manky bodies to move since their blood has coagulated in their blood vessels. By destroying the spinal column at the base of the neck, the energy stops flowing. So, your goons DO have a weak spot!" Jason explained with a brave smile. Enraged, Westwood ordered another attack but with Jason's theory proven, Jill and Stone easily hacked them down with their Laser Blades before any of them got the chance to launch an attack.

            Westwood was livid when he found every one of his monsters had been defeated and had crumbled to dust and disappeared as their energy channels were severed.

"Give it up Westwood! You're finished!" Stone called to him as all of them approached.

"You fools! This is far from over! This fight has just begun!" Westwood screamed. Stone charged at him but bounced off him as his magical shield that was still surrounding him.

"He still has the stones so he is still dangerous," Jill warned.

"And yet to become even more deadly! You've forced me to reveal the true power behind Project Red Phoenix and it is something you are bound to enjoy kid!" Westwood said smiling malevolently at Jason. Jason shuffled uneasily and watched as the manic businessman thrust his hands into the air with the stones in one and the digital recorder in the other. Hitting the play button, Jason was horrified to hear his piccolo melody ringing out over the meadow. Whilst the song played, the three stones levitated out of Westwood's hands and began to circle each other. At the same time, loud rumbling sounded overhead as black clouds began to cover the sky and thunder rang out over the landscape. The stones rotated faster and faster as the song played on until they all flashed and rushed towards each other at supersonic speed. Upon contact, a large lightening bolt shot from the clouds and crashed into the stones generating a blinding flash. Everyone shielded their eyes from the glare and screamed in panic.

            Once the blinding flare had disappeared, everyone looked up to see a golden pyramid of three triangles floating in front of Westwood's face.

"Yes! This is it! The ultimate power of the universe! I have finally revealed it to the world!" Westwood cried overjoyed.

"The Heaven's Eternity Crystal!" Littlefoot gasped as they watched it suddenly shoot off behind Westwood in the direction of the Red Phoenix complex in the Forest of Fear.

"You pathetic fools are about to witness the power of the Red Phoenix and the legendary Stones of Essence! Enjoy it while it lasts as it will be the very last thing you will ever see!" he roared as the sky cracked with lightening and thunder crashed heavily overhead. As the rumbling died down, there was a sound of an explosion from the direction the crystal had shot off in.

"What was that?" Cera asked extremely worried.

"That is the awakening of my most brilliant creation. Project Red Phoenix is on its way," Westwood replied. As few seconds later, a massive, glowing, metal pod flew overhead. It crackled with stray electricity as it slowly descended to the ground.

"What the hell is that thing?" Stone cried raising his rifle to it.

"That is the Red Phoenix…" Westwood announced excitedly, "Come out! Red Phoenix!"

            Responding to his call, the cylindrical pod crackled lividly and shook violently. Everyone jumped backwards as the pod burst open revealing a beautiful woman with flowing, jet-black hair with her arms folded across her chest and her eyes closed.

"She is born! At long last, the Red Phoenix is born!" Westwood cried triumphantly. Everyone looked on in amazement as the crystal encircled her, dusting her with glittering, golden stars. She opened her eyes and smiled at her audience. Before their eyes, three triangular markings appeared on her body. A red triangle on her chest, a blue one under her left eye and a final, green triangle on the back of her right hand.

"She is the Red Phoenix?! I can kill her in right now!" Stone boasted as he stood primed to fire.

"NO!" Jason cried knocking his rifle into the air causing him to shoot uncontrollably skywards.

"What the hell are you doing kid?" Stone demanded.

"Jason?…what's wrong?" Littlefoot asked noticing the strangely intrigued yet horrified look on his face. Westwood's face lit up evilly.

"You recognise her yet Jason? You should do," he said smiling menacingly.

"It can't be!!!…Is that you………mother?!" Jason asked sheepishly.

"Mother?!" the gang gasped in shock.

Chapter 53: Death of the Soul 

            The entire meadow stood in an awed silence as Jason pushed his way to the front of the group. Westwood was wearing the nastiest of grin as he read the expression on Jason's face as he looked the beautiful woman up and down. He couldn't believe his eyes as he examined every square inch of her; all the while Westwood was feeding off his reactions.

"Like her? She's lovely isn't she? A masterpiece of work integrated with the perfect specimen sample. Experiment Alpha Omega-1615…Project Red Phoenix," he said dreamily.

"No! You're lying! Stop calling her that! My mother is dead! She was killed by one of you murderers who clearly value money above human life! You are a soulless monster," Jason said turning away from the woman who was still smiling sweetly.

"Jason? Is this true? Could that really be…?" Littlefoot started.

"NO! She is NOT my mother! She is dead and that is that! This can't be her," Jason barked croakily.

"Of course Jason. Your mother is dead…and do you know why?" Westwood said resting his hands on her and peering over her right shoulder at him.

"Shut up…" Jason mumbled to the ground. He just couldn't bring himself to look the woman in the eye.

"I was the one who pulled the trigger…remember that day, seven years ago; I know you do. Floor thirty-seven, in the office cubicle when you were supposed to escape together? Mother and son, hand in hand? Shame you didn't account for one minor detail," Westwood drooled. The crowd gasped and all focused on Jason who hadn't lifted his head up since the woman known as the Red Phoenix appeared in front of him.

"Damn you……it was you……" Jason whispered weakly.

"Be glad! I can't possibly see why you are so angry. Look, she's standing right in front of you and you can't look her in the eye," Westwood taunted.

"You bastard!" Jason screamed and charged but an invisible force struck him and threw him backwards. Westwood laughed as Littlefoot and the gang went to his aid.

"You killed his mother?! What kind of heartless freak are you?!" Jill scowled but Westwood just laughed.

"Do I really need to explain it? Anyway, as amusing as this little game is, I have a busy schedule to keep to. The Chronos Doorway is waiting for me. Farewell!" With that, Westwood disappeared into the bushes behind the woman.

"Come back here! Coward!" Jason screamed lividly but he didn't reply. Leaping up, Jason chased after him but the woman held her arm out and blocked his path. Obediently, he skidded to a halt and looked at her properly for the first time.

"Who are you? You're not my mother; you can't even speak," Jason said defeated. He knew his mother was gone but something he saw in her flaming eyes jogged some dreaded memories that he had hoped he had forgotten long ago.

"C'mon! Westwood is getting away!" Cera whined.

"Please, stand down…" Jason said sheepishly. He felt powerless against her delicate and vulnerable appearance.

"I can't let you pass," she stated unthreateningly but her ability to talk shocked everyone nonetheless.

"You can talk," Ali said bewildered.

"Are you really his mother?" Littlefoot asked which made Jason's stomach give an uncomfortable hop.

"Of course I am," she said happily.

"No! Shut up! You are NOT my mother! You may look like her but you can't be her!" Jason said shaking his head.

"Jason…take a good look at me. Look at face…look into my eyes. I am the same mother you lost seven years ago. I worked with Professor Baxter remember? In laboratory 2291. He kept me alive and gave me my new form. If it weren't for him I would never have gotten the chance to see you again…I missed you so much…" the woman said soothingly forcing Jason to gasp horrified. Every detail she stated was true of his mother's past.

"N-no! It's not true! You were killed! I saw it myself…" Jason said feebly. He could feel his emotions slowly taking control of him.

"Jason…I am here for you. It was the professor and Westwood who saved me. I hate to admit it but they gave me another chance at life," she continued to sympathise.

"Is it really you? Truly?" Jason whispered to her and she nodded slowly, "Mother…I missed you…"

"Come son. Come give your mother a hug," the woman said waving him closer. Everyone else were greatly perplexed by the whole ordeal yet no one told Jason to stop. As Jason walked into his mother's outstretched arms, Littlefoot saw something evil flicker her eyes.

"No Jason don't! It's a trick!" he shouted.

"Too late!" Jason's mother hissed as she waved her hand up and a massive gust blew everyone back. As they picked themselves up off the grass, Jason's mother walked up to them.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked in surprise. He couldn't snap back at his own mother despite her actions.

"I'm sorry Jason. My allegiance is to Westwood and I will help him in his conquest of the world," she replied.

"Not if I can help it!" Stone yelled and raised his rifle and opened fire on her. From her static position, Jason's mother held her hand up and deflected every bullet away like harmless pebbles. Stone continued to fire as the shots ricocheted off her magic shield passing dangerously close to all of them. As the last shot was fired, Jason's mother bounced it back and it caught the sergeant in the arm.

"Daniel!" Jill shouted seeing him fall to his knees. Jason's mother gave a twisted smile as Mr. Threehorn growled and charged, full-speed at her.

"Daddy! No!" Cera cried as he connected with her. Upon hitting, there was a bright flash and everyone gasped to see Jason's mother holding Mr. Threehorn back with her hands resting on his nose horn. Mr Threehorn was clearly trying to use all his strength as he pawed the ground but Jason's mother was not budging an inch. With another cruel smile, she raised one hand to his face and a magic force struck him and sent him sprawling into a tree at the far end of the Green Meadow.

"My God! What strength!" Jill said hoarsely as she saw the mighty dinosaur, unconscious, under the shaking tree. Swinging her arms in a wide circle, Jason's mother conjured up a ring of fire that separated the other adult dinosaurs from Jason, Jill, Sergeant Stone and the gang. The elders called out to their children and tried to jump the wall of fire but the flames stretched higher to prevent them from vaulting over it. Even Petrie's mother could not fly over it as the unnatural blaze followed her path upwards and blocked her off.

            Jason's mother then looked down on everyone enclosed in the evil fire's deadly ring.

"Why are you doing this?" Littlefoot cried seeing the terrified looks on his grandparents' faces.

"The sacred stones need to be complete. In order for me to reach my full potential, the souls of the stone bearers must be consumed and put back into the stones. Although the crystal is in its final formation, the energy is not enough to fulfil my master's wishes," the evil woman said with a twisted smile.

"Please. Do not hurt us…we have not done anything wrong. Oh no, no, no!" Ducky whimpered as she hugged Spike's face.

"Don't worry sweetie, it's not you I am after," Jason's mother said. Her eyes then locked onto her son who flinched awkwardly. Suddenly, from her position, Jason's mother reached her arm out and a long, sick-looking tentacle shot out from the palm of her outstretched hand at lightening speed. With no time to react, Jason felt the slimy tentacle wrap around his neck and yank him towards his mother. Coughing and gagging, Jason dropped to his knees at her feet. He looked up at her with the tentacle around his throat with fearful eyes but she smiled malevolently and picked him up off the ground. Suspended in mid-air, Jason choked and struggled trying to release the tightening grip around his windpipe. For a second, there was a glisten of light and the whooshing sound of something being lifted.

"Put him down!" Jill snapped as she raised her pistol.

"Go ahead shoot me!" Jason's mother taunted, "I've lifted my barrier but do you really think you can hit me from there without harming Jason? We are magically bonded so any pain I feel, he feels!"

"You're…lying. I'm calling your bluff. Now, I told you once already…put him down or I'll fire!" Jill warned tightening her grip on the gun. She was trying hard to avoid the large, glaring eyes of Jason's friends who were silent but their expressions were clearly said not to hurt him. As she watched Jason writhing in the Red Phoenix's hand, Jill gritted her teeth and took the shot. The bullet hit its target causing her to flinch awkwardly but as his mother had proclaimed, Jason screamed in pain and clutched his arm in the exact spot where it had hit the evil woman.

"NO! Jason! Jill, please! Don't kill him!" Littlefoot cried to Jill. Jill felt a hot flush surge through her body as she looked at the sorrowful expressions on Littlefoot's face as well as the other dinosaurs Jason had befriended.

"Damn it!" Jill cursed and lowered her pistol. Jason's mother smiled but then turned to see Zephyr making a surprise attack from behind. As the brave dog made a pounce, she waved her free hand and struck him heavily. The force of the blow sent him rolling across the field, extremely close to the wall of fire.

"Zephyr!" Sergeant Stone called and went to his aid.

"As fun as this little game may seem, my master is waiting. I must meet up with him back in the newly reformed future," Jason's mother cackled. Suddenly, her body began to glow as Jason kicked and squirmed in her clutches.

"Jason!" Littlefoot cried as he watched his body being to light up a deep red colour. Jill then took the decision and ignoring the earlier warning of harming Jason, she pulled her pistol up again.

"Jill, no!" Ali shouted but she opened fire on the two of them. As before, the bullets swerved and missed their target as if they had a mind of their own and didn't want to hurt her.

"Damn, no good! The energy field around them is pushing the shots away again," Jill said defeated. Everyone looked on in terror as the two lights grew brighter. The skies cracked menacingly with thunder and lightening as the red glow started to pass into the white light surrounding the evil woman.

"Yes! The Essence of Heart is now mine!" Jason's mother exclaimed overjoyed as the red light started to fade.

"No! Jason!" Littlefoot cried helplessly.

"L-Lit-tle-foot…" Jason choked looking at him out of the corner of his eye, "I'm…sorry…" With that, there was one last bright flash and Jason's body lurched up before falling limply in his mother's tentacle.

"JASON!" Littlefoot shouted as the glowing diminished.

"It is done! My first essence has been revived!" Jason's mother said triumphantly as the red triangle on her chest lit up and glowed a blood red. With a flick of her snake-like tentacle, she threw Jason's body in amongst Littlefoot and the others. The elders behind the wall of fire gasped in horror as he hit the ground. Littlefoot instantly ran over to his body closely followed by the rest of the gang.

"Jason!…Jason! Open your eyes!" Littlefoot ordered knocking him with his nose but Jason remained lifeless on the grass, "C'mon Jason! Say something…please…anything…"

"No…this can not be…Jason! Please wake up!" Ducky said close to tears seeing that he was not responding to Littlefoot trying to arouse him. Jill then walked over to his body and placed her hand on his neck.

"He's…gone…No pulse or breath…" she reported sadly.

"No! He can't be gone! Jason, please wake up!" Littlefoot begged but Jason remained unresponsive. Silvery tears began to well up in his eyes as he wept over him.

"You're wasting your time child. I have his life now. He is part of me as he so longed to be," Jason's mother said coolly with her arms folded across her.

"How could you do that? He was your son and you killed him!" Cera shouted with a very croaky voice.

"I know. That's precisely why I did it. He is one of the chosen ones to receive the Stone of Essence. If I could spare him I would have," she said unphased by the strong emotions everyone was feeling.

"Liar! You just wanted to kill him to get rid of him! You cold-blooded murderer!" Jill screamed. She was about to charge at her but Jason's mother raised her hand to the sky as a bright flash erupted from the heavens and began to tremble again. Looking up at the uncontrollable skyline, the gang then saw a large, blue circle suddenly appear from behind Jason's mother.

"The Chronos Doorway!" Stone yelled as he placed his unconscious partner on the floor. Littlefoot stared deep into the magical portal as flashbacks of his first meeting with Jason came instantly to mind.

"I'm off to change the world. If you want to see our master plan unleashed upon the world, just step into the rabbit hole. It won't hold forever so make your decision quickly!" Jason's mother said before leaping into the swirl vortex and disappearing out of sight.

            The shaking, blacken sky and roaring wind coming from the Chronos Doorway made the Great Valley seem very distort and warped as the gang huddled over Jason's body.

"I can't believe Jason is really gone…" Littlefoot sobbed as his sparkling tears rolled down his face and drop onto Jason's skin.

"He was a good friend…yep, yep, yep…" Ducky said rubbing her tear-stained eyes. Spike waddled up to Jason and gave him one last lick before backing away. He too was deeply upset about their loss.

"I'm sorry…I know Jason meant a lot to you guys…" Jill said sorrowfully. She was finding it hard to control her own emotions seeing the gang all tearful.

"But what we do now?" Petrie said between weeps.

"We have to follow them into the future and stop them before this madness unravels the fabric of our time and history," Jill said standing up from beside Jason and looking into the blue swirling time door. Jill and Sergeant Stone walked towards the Chronos Doorway and stopped at the base of it. Just as they were about to jump into it, they heard footsteps beside them.

"I'm going with you," Littlefoot announced valiantly.

"What? No you're not kid! It's too dangerous!" Stone barked at him.

"That human has made a mess of everything. To my home and to my friends. Jason always blamed himself for all the bad things that happened to us. I want to help you stop Westwood," he argued.

"Littlefoot…revenge will not bring Jason back you understand? Even if we do beat Westwood, Jason is gone for good," Jill said cautiously.

"I know…but I want to beat him…for Jason's sake…" Littlefoot sighed.

"Count us in too!" Cera yelled from behind them.

"What? You all want to come?!" Stone asked exasperatedly. The five remaining dinosaurs nodded despite the anxious shouts from their parents.

"You do all realise that this could be the last time you see your families again? Once you pass through the Doorway, there can be no going back. You have to be absolutely sure…" Jill warned. The gang took a glance at each other and then back to their parents who were starting back at them fretfully but silent.

"We are sure. We are going with you!" Littlefoot said bravely.

"Alright then. Let's go!" Jill said.

"Oh boy! What the hell is this? A nursery?" Stone whined but Jill gave him a dirty look which made him flinch. Then, one by one, they leaped into the blue circle and disappeared out of sight. As Ali past through the bright circle of light, Littlefoot looked back at Jason lying on the ground. He never imagined what things would turn out this way but he felt indebted to him somehow. From Jason, he then at his grandparents who looked back at him. He could tell that they didn't want him to go but from his suggestive glance down to Jason, both of them understood what he had to do.

"Don't worry Grandpa, Grandma. I promise I will stop this madness," Littlefoot whispered to them, "And Jason…one way or another…I know I will see you again…" As his final tear ran off his face, Littlefoot turned and stared deep into the endless, swirling blue. With a deep breath, he stepped into the Doorway and felt his body shoot into the portal as it closed behind him.


	17. Part 15: A World with No Future

Chapter 54: Destination Year 2113: The End of the World 

            Screaming and wailing as he felt his body spin and somersault through the empty space, Littlefoot tried hard to control himself as he flew at supersonic speed through the flashing, blue tunnel of light. The force from the air rushing the opposite way felt like it was going to tear him in half as he ploughed headlong into the future. After a few seconds, Littlefoot was launched out of the tunnel as he tumbled onto a hard, rocky surface that he had never felt before. Groaning and coming to his senses again, he found himself upside down with a number of eyes looking down on him.

"Littlefoot? Are you alright?" an inverted Ducky asked.

"Err…yeah. I'm fine," he replied as he flipped himself the right way up.

"Glad to see you made it Littlefoot," Jill said smiling as he staggered towards her a little bruised but none worse for the wear.

"Where are we?" Littlefoot asked as he looked up to find himself in the strangest of worlds. The sky was dark and laced with growing, black clouds that rumbled and threatened to thunder.

"This is the future; long after the reign of the dinosaurs. This is the year 2113, the time where we exist," Sergeant Stone said looking at his watch and checking his rifle.

"Whoa! Look at that! Those tall rocky things almost touching the sky!" Petrie cawed with a dropped jaw.

"Those are building, humans can live inside them as homes but these ones are purely for working and business. They are all broken and crumbling thanks to the military strikes that torched the land. If it hadn't been for Westwood and his virus, this city would have thrived and prospered. Just goes to show you how one man's greedy ambition can lead to the downfall of a once mighty civilisation," Jill sighed.

"It's awful…so much damage and destruction…I thought our Land of Mists was bad but this is much worse…" Ali said sombrely as she scanned the streets that were littered with rubble from fallen buildings.

"So where to now? Where did Westwood go?" Cera asked.

"My guess is the Red Phoenix Headquarters on the other side of London. It's a bit of a trek but we've got on other choice," Stone said pointing down the street.

"Well, let's go. We have to stop Westwood and the Red Phoenix before they reactivate the Chronos Doorway and unravel our history," Jill said reloading her pistol, "We'd better stock up on ammo too; only got a few clips left." Following Jill and Stone, Littlefoot and the rest of the gang huddled close together and marched behind them towards what remained of the Red Phoenix headquarters.

            After a short walk, they found themselves approaching the River Thames. The bridge over it was punched full of holes and sections of it were crumbling into the almost dried river that flowed through the city. Still feeling slightly faint and dazed by their trip through the time door, the gang requested a short rest which Jill granted. As they all sat down to relax for a second, Littlefoot followed Spike and Cera down to the riverbank for a drink but they were quickly stopped by Jill who jumped down in front of them.

"No, no! You can't drink out of the Thames! It's flooded with chemicals and sewage from burst water mains and sewer pipes!" Jill exclaimed pulling them away.

"But I'm thirsty," Cera whinged but then backed away after getting a closer look at the water.

"Uck! That's disgusting! The water's all black and grimy! Bleah!" Ali said wincing from the awful sight of the river.

"Yeah…the water's contaminated. Probably more of the Red Phoenix's doing I'd imagine," Jill said shamefully.

"How can you humans survive without water if you can't drink this?" Ducky asked inquisitively.

"We have to collect rainwater now. Either that or get it purified by…" Stone started but was interrupted by a shriek from Cera.

"What is it?!" Jill wailed as Cera turned tail and ran back up the bank. Everyone looked at the edge of the river to see another zombie crawling from out of the water. Its grey, waterlogged skin was almost falling off its bones as it stood up and trudged towards them. Raising her gun, Jill took a shot which ploughed through the creature's head, severing its brainstem. The zombie fell to the floor and disintegrated as the others had before.

"W-What was that?! Are those monsters here too?" Cera exclaimed panting hard.

"Looks like it. Westwood must have used the stones to reanimated those who had been killed by the viral outbreak," Jill said lowering her handgun.

"That means those scary creatures could be walking around anywhere!" Petrie said perching on Littlefoot's head trembling slightly. Before Jill or Stone could reply, there was another sound of the water's surface breaking followed by another and another. The gang looked on horrified to see numerous zombies crawling out of the polluted river.

"Whoa! There's loads of them!" Stone cried raising his rifle but Jill batted it down.

"Save your ammo! Let's just get out of here!" she shouted as she ushered the others up the bank. Back on the road, Jill, Stone and the gang tore down the bridge over the Thames as the zombies crawled up the bank after them.

"Watch your step!" Jill yelled as she dodged the large holes that were bored into bridge.

Those things are right behind us!" Cera squealed turning to see how far back the zombies were.

"Cera! Look out!" Petrie warned. Responding to his call, Cera whipped her head around to find a gaping hole in her path. With no time to react, Cera stumbled and fell through the hole. In her panic, Cera managed to throw her top half onto the edge of the pit with her hind legs dangling over the murky water.

"Help me!" Cera wailed as the crumbling edge began to give way. Charging to her rescue, Jill threw her gun to one side and grabbed Cera by her front legs. Struggling to pull her up, Jill turned to see Littlefoot double-backing to help her. With the additional assistance, Jill and Littlefoot hauled Cera up onto the bridge as the zombies continued to advance on them.

            With Cera safely back on solid ground, everyone continued to run along the aging bridge trying to escape the zombies.

"Oh no! Look!" Ali cried skidding to a halt. Stopping next to her, they all gasped to see that a large section of the bridge had collapsed leaving a massive gap to cross. Stone turned to see the zombies closing in on them from behind.

"We gotta jump it!" he ordered.

"What! We can't jump that far!" Cera argued.

"Jump! It's either that or become lunch meat for those sick freaks!" Stone said raising his rifle to fire.

"But it's too far! We'll fall!" Ali whined but Petrie took off, flew over the gap and landed on the other side.

"It not that far! C'mon guys! You can do it!" he said waving them on. Everyone looked at each other still a little unsure.

"C'mon! Hurry up!" Stone yelled opening fire on the zombies. Littlefoot then stepped to look down into the murky water. There he could see more zombies frantically trying to snatch at him from in the water like piranhas jumping for meat. Gulping, he backed away  and took a run up. Upon reaching the edge, he leapt as far as he could. To his relief, he landed safely on the other side.

"He's right guys! All you have to do is jump! Quickly!" Littlefoot announced encouragingly. One by one, the gang charged at the hole and cleared the gap. The zombies were almost upon them as Jill jumped the gap after Spike.

"Ducky! Daniel! Come on! Just you two now!" Jill shouted across to them.

"Go Ducky! I'll follow you," the sergeant said.

"O-okay…" Ducky said nervously as she turned to take her run up. Bravely, she leapt the gap but collided with the edge on the opposite side having not quite made it.

"Ducky!" Littlefoot cried as Spike dashed forward to help her up.

"Phew…thank you Spike. Thank you for saving me," she wheezed but smiled as Spike licked his sister's face affectionately.

"Okay, they're all over Daniel! Your turn!" Jill shouted to him. Stone broke off his fire and turned to jump the gap. As he approached the jump, the very edge of the bridge crumbled from under his feet. Wailing, Sergeant Stone missed his jump and fell down towards the sickly water. Diving forward, Jill thrust her hand to him as he reached up and clasped her wrist. The force of his fall dragged Jill closer to the edge as she tried to lift him back up. Stone was relieved to have caught her but he could see the zombies in the water snapping at his heels like wild dogs.

"Grrr…I'm slipping…I…can't hold on…" Jill called through gritted teeth as she felt her body slowly being pulled over the edge. Just then, Jill felt a number of vice-like grips clamp around her ankles. Turning, Jill saw the dinosaurs digging their heels into the ground and were trying to pull the two of them back up. Slowly, Jill could feel herself being inched back up onto the side. After one last, hefty tug, Sergeant Stone was hauled up onto the bridge and everyone flopped down exhausted.

"Whew! That was way too close!" Jill sighed picking herself up.

"Yeah…Thanks for that kids. You saved me," Stone said smiling at them.

"It's nothing," Littlefoot said smiling back warmly.

"C'mon, let's keep going. Westwood will be getting ready to start up his plans. We have to stop him," Jill said urgently. After a brief moment to catch their breath, everyone dusted themselves off and headed deeper into the city.

Chapter 55: A Spirited Saviour 

            "Whoa! Look…at…that!" Ali gasped as they passed down the narrow roads that were constantly overshadowed by sky-scraping high building caked in black dirt and grime as if infected with a spreading fungus.

"This were humans live? It amazing!" Petrie said with his jaw hanging open.

"Believe it or not, this was once a prosperous city full of life and street bustling with people. Probably one of the most hospitable places to making a living," Jill announced sternly, "but once the supervirus hit the streets of this magnificent place, everything crumbled to dust. Very few were spared and this is all that remains of that once beloved city…"

"That is so awful!" Ducky said sorrowfully.

"Humph! Sound stupid to me!" Cera snorted, "Why would humans make something that would end up wiping them all out?"

"What's that mean?" Stone snapped in defence staring Cera in the eye.

"Uh oh. Cera at it again…" Petrie warned rolling his eyes.

"Oh boy! You don't wanna get the Serge started on weapons…Killing machines or life-savers, biological or fire-arms, he'll never back down," Jill smirked, "missiles, pistols, rifles, launchers…he knows them all. He knows every model number, its origin, its development throughout history…the works."

"That means we will probably be hearing them for a long time. Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky said regretfully holding her ears as Stone and Cera continued to bicker at the back of the group.

            Smiling and shaking her head at Cera and Stone, Ali faced forward to see Littlefoot trudging along blindly, by himself, ahead of everyone else. Seeing the rest of the group distracted by the argument, she quickened her pace to catch up to him. As she pulled up to his side, Littlefoot failed to notice her as he marched on clearly in another world.

"Littlefoot?" she then said rather sheepishly.

"Huh? Oh…hi Ali…" Littlefoot sighed as he was brought back to reality.

"You've been very quiet. Ever since we escaped those monsters by the river you haven't said a word," she said calmly.

"What's there to talk about? I guess I just wanted a little time to myself," Littlefoot replied lowly.

"You thinking about Jason?" Ali asked boldly but flinched when Littlefoot locked his eyes with hers suddenly. Realising he had shocked Ali with his harsh gaze, Littlefoot blinked to break the deadlock between them and lowered his head. He nodded slowly.

"Jason died because of me…if I didn't shout at him for thinking he was a sharptooth…maybe none of this would have happened."

"No Littlefoot. It's not your fault," Ali said trying to comfort him.

"It is my fault. I let Westwood trick me into giving him those magic stones. He made me think that Jason was my enemy and I believed him without giving it a second thought. I forgot all the things he did for us back in the Great Valley…and…what he did for me…" Ali fell silent unable to say a word.

"I should never have listened to him. Because of him, Jason is no longer here, we are possibly trapped here in the human world without a way home and he could be doing anything right now. If only I had listened to Jason instead…maybe everything would have been alright…maybe…he'd still be here with us…"

            Littlefoot slowly came to a standstill and looked at the cracked, concrete pavement as his mind tortured him with Jason's last moments of life before falling limply at the hands of his own mother. As the bright flash that ended Jason's life erupted before his eyes again, he slammed his eyes shut and felt a cold wave shudder down his spine. Seeing Littlefoot very emotionally unstable, Ali stepped closer to him and spoke directly into his ear.

"But if it wasn't for you, we would have never found Jason in the first place," she whispered. Littlefoot's eyes then opened and he turned and looked at her a little shocked by her words.

"You were the one who found Jason and introduced him to all of us. If it weren't for you, we would never have made such a great friend. Remember when you introduced him to me for the first time? And when he took us to the weird forest on the edge of the Valley? We would have never found out about the humans being in that forest if Jason hadn't suggested we check it out. Funny that, how he managed to create an adventure in your own homeland huh? A real friend who is great to have stand by you,"

"B-but Ali? I thought you didn't trust Jason? You always thought that Jason could have been a sharptooth from the very beginning and you were almost right…"

"No. I was wrong. I was just concerned that maybe Jason was going to do something bad to you. I had this idea that he was going to hurt everyone in the Great Valley which would take my friends away from him. It was only when I saw Jason dying in his mother's arm that I realised that it was not Jason I was afraid of…it was Westwood. But I had never met Westwood until he came into the field and attacked us so I always thought it was Jason. My only regret is that I was too late to see that Jason was as innocent as you and me. Just another kid caught up in all that was happening but none of us could see."

"…Ali…" Littlefoot gasped in amazement.

"I know that now but I also know that if we want to make sure Jason did not die in vain, we must stop Westwood's plan. If we work together on this, I know we can defeat Westwood." Ali turned to Littlefoot again and smiled. Littlefoot still couldn't believe what he had heard from her but he quickly returned the gesture with a smile of his own.

            As they stood smiling at each other, they looked back at the rest of the group and didn't realise the massive gap they had made between them and the others. Even from the distance they were ahead, they both could tell that Cera and Stone were still arguing. As they turned to face each other again, there was a long, groaning creak from somewhere in their vicinity.

"What was that?" Ali asked.

"I dunno…" Littlefoot said looking around. Suddenly, the groan grew louder and they cringed at the sound.

"Could it be another monster?" Ali suggested trembling.

"I hope not…let's wait for the others," Littlefoot said slowly standing upright. As the groaning continued, Littlefoot then felt something hit him on the head.

"Oww! Huh?" he complained.

"What was that?" Ali asked,

"A rock dropped on me. From up there," Littlefoot said looking up at the darkened sky but he gasped in horror at what he saw. Following his gaze, Ali looked up to see two floating figures towering above them.

"Enjoying your tour of London kids? Sadly this is your final stop!" the figure said.

"Westwood!" Littlefoot cried as he stood on an invisible platform next to Jason's mother.

"What's wrong Littlefoot? Thinking about the poor, boy I killed? Shame that but don't you worry. You'll be joining Jason soon enough! He's just dying to meet you!" Westwood cackled as he signalled to Jason's mother. Acknowledging, she focused her strength on the building over the two of them and tore a large chuck of the wall off the building. Littlefoot and Ali gasped as she held the massive structure over her head and smiled down on them malevolently.

            From further back, the rest of the group were just coming into view.

"Look! Up there!" Petrie cried.

"It's Westwood and the Red Phoenix!" Jill gasped urgently pulling her pistol out. Suddenly, Spike became very erratic and began dancing around madly.

"Spike?! What is wrong with you?" Ducky complained as she tried to stay on Spike's back as he jumped around like a bucking bronco squealing.

"Oh my God! Littlefoot! Ali!" Stone then yelled having realised what Spike was trying to point out.

"She's going to crush them!" Cera cried as she sprinted towards them. Having heard their cries, Westwood turned and looked at the group heading their way.

"Time to end it Red Phoenix!" Westwood announced nodding his head. Responding to the command, Jason's mother launched the chuck of wall directly down onto Littlefoot and Ali and they quickly disappeared over the rooftops. Unable to move from fear, Littlefoot and Ali clung to each other screaming at the concrete slab tore straight at them.

"Littlefoot! Ali! No!" Cera screeched as the wall almost flattened them. From under the approaching slab, Littlefoot clamped his eyes shut unable to watch still screaming. Suddenly, from nowhere, Littlefoot heard a voice.

"NO! Littlefoot!!!" it shouted. Snapping his eyes open, Littlefoot heard a tremendous crash as the piece of building deflected off them and crashed to the pavement on the other side of the road.

            Gasping, the rest of the group hurried over to Ali and Littlefoot as they slowly uncurled from each other and stood up slowly.

"Littlefoot! Ali! Are you alright?!" Ducky exclaimed as they approached them.

"Y-yeah! I think so," Ali said cautiously.

"What happened? That chunk of building was heading straight for you," Stone asked bewildered.

"I-I don't know…" Littlefoot stammered slowly, "I…I thought I heard someone shout out to me. A voice from out of nowhere."

"A voice? A sniper close by maybe?" Stone suggested turning to Jill.

"No sniper could have made such a miraculous shot, deflected the slab and land it on the other side of the street in one piece," Jill said looking at the large section of concrete lying through a shop's display window.

"It look like it bounced off you," Petrie said perching on Littlefoot's head.

"Yes it did. But what could have caused that big rock-like thing to do that?" Ducky asked looking to the others in confusion.

"Don't look at me," Cera blurted.

"What did the voice sound like Littlefoot?" Jill asked.

"I dunno…it happened so fast I just couldn't tell," Littlefoot sighed as he tried to recollect the tone of the voice.

"Whatever creepy stuff just happened there, I'm glad you're both safe. It look likes Westwood has completely overrun the city. We better get to Red Phoenix Headquarters fast before he can spring anymore nasty surprises on us," Stone stated as he checked his rifle and walked on ahead; one by one, the gang followed. Littlefoot was the last one to set off but before he did, he took one more look at the sky and saw the black clouds swarming overhead.

"Who was that who saved me? Where have I heard your voice before?…Why am I getting the feeling we've met before?" he whispered to the atmosphere as he turned and ran to catch up to the others.

Chapter 56: A Twisted City of Ruin 

            "Go! Go! Go! Keep running!" Stone shouted as he quickly turned and fired more rounds on the creatures stalking them.

"They're everywhere! Arrrrggghhhh!" Cera screamed as she tore around a corner and nearly careered into one of the zombie stood next to an overturned car. The group had been surprised by a counterattack by the mutant creatures as they continued their march onwards towards the headquarters of the Red Phoenix Labs.

"Geez! They're really swarming in this area," Jill puffed as she flicked another magazine into her gun whilst running alongside the dinosaur children. Suddenly, Ali stumbled and fell to the ground having tripped on the kerb as they ran across the road to avoid the vast quantity of decaying humans and infected animals that gave chase.

"Ali! Look out!" Ducky cried looking back from atop Spike. Ali turned to see zombified dogs charging straight for her. Panic-stricken, she tried to get to her feet as the closest dog leapt in the air to pounce on her. Without warning, a gunshot cracked dangerously close to Ali's ears as the dog buckled in mid-flight and landed heavily into a row of dustbins on the side of the road. A few shots later, the others lay dazed on the cracked concrete sprawled everywhere. Looking up, Ali saw Jill racing towards her and knelt down beside her.

"C'mon!" Jill called to her helping Ali to her feet. Nodding and smiling gratefully, Ali jumped up and they took off to catch up with the others.

            Tearing headlong through the barrage of zombies, the group looked around for some means on refuge from the madness surrounding them.

"Which way now?!" Cera shouted as they came to a junction with a number of different routes.

"That way! We can cut down Bond Street to reach headquarters," Stone announced. As the gang turned to run down the road indicated, they skidded to a halt having seen their path was blocked by a new fleet of monsters.

"No way am I running passed those creeps!" Cera barked double backing.

"Oh great! The most direct route's littered with these things!" Stone cursed reloading, "Jill, I'm almost dry! We've gotta get to that building!"

"We can cut through Trafalgar Square if we can get there," Jill shouted back.

"Which way is that?" Ali called looking down each of the roads, all of which were crawling with zombified humans and dogs all advancing on them.

"Take that road there!" Jill pointed as she dropped another empty clip to the ground and loaded her last one. Suddenly, Petrie gave a frightened cry from overhead.

"Petrie!" Littlefoot cried as he saw him trying to out-manoeuvre a flock of ravenous crows who were giving chase.

"Get away from me! Help! Me need help!" Petrie squealed as he dove down towards the ground.

"Look out!" Cera yelled as the birds then started to turn on the gang, pecking and clawing at their heads. As they frantically tried to bat them off, Stone turned and fired a few shots into the attacking flock killing a few of them.

"Whew…thanks Mr. Stone," Ali sighed relieved as the surviving crows took off.

"No problem, let's get going," the sergeant smiled.

"Stone! Look out!" Littlefoot then warned. Stone turned to look but before he could focus on what Littlefoot had seen, one of the dogs had charged up from behind and pounced directly on him knocking him over. The gang gasped in horror as the malicious animal tried to seize the sergeant by the neck with its teeth as Stone fought to throw it off.

"Jill!" Ducky shouted to her to attract her attention as she stood keeping the monsters ahead of them at bay. She looked around to see her comrade tussling under the disgusting creature but before she could take aim, Cera ran, full-speed, towards the dog and rammed it heavily in the side knocking it clean off Stone and sent it rolling down the road it had come from.

"Whoa! Thanks Cera! You…saved me," Stone puffed, rolling over to face her. Cera snorted and smiled as the sergeant got to his feet.

"Daniel, this way!" Jill called to him as she lowered her gun and started down the street she had cleared as much as possible. With a quick glance at each other, Stone and the gang promptly followed Jill down the street towards Trafalgar Square keeping their distance from the attacking monsters around them.

            The group of eight pressed on down the twisted streets riddled with corpses which reeked with the musky smell of rotting flesh and decaying matter.

"How…much…further…?" Cera wheezed as she knocked another zombie out of her path.

"Just a bit further, we're almost there," Jill said breathlessly as they turned down another road. Tearing around the last corner, the group approached a large concrete opening with a destroyed fountain at its centre. Lying, sprawled across the magnificent square in many pieces was the massive pillar of Nelson's Column and its four mighty lions toppled from their pedestals.

"Is that it?" Littlefoot called between breaths.

"Yeah, that's the square. We can cut across it and get to headquarters a few streets ahead," Jill announced as she ran over the road and into the square. As the gang followed suit, they all came to a sudden stop gasping in terror.

"C'mon! What's the hold up?" Stone ordered as he joined the others. No one answered him but before he could say another word, Stone looked up to see an entire army of zombies lined up on the stairs above them, blocking their route.

"They're cutting us off," Ali said fretfully as they all glared down on them menacingly.

"Let's go back," Littlefoot suggested backing away from the steps.

"Uh oh! They coming from behind too!" Petrie warned as they tried to double back.

"C'mon! Up the other stairs!" Stone called but he was quickly stopped by more zombies congregating there.

"We are surrounded! There is no way out!" Ducky wailed as they stood in the centre of the square boxed in from all sides.

"What are you waiting for Stone? Get them!" Cera ordered. Stone raised his rifle and pulled the trigger but it clicked helplessly.

"What's the matter?" Littlefoot asked nervously.

"Dammit! Out of ammo!" Stone cursed flinging the massive gun around on his back.

"Jill?" Ali called sheepishly but she too gave her a helpless look. Flicking out her clip, Jill found only a few bullets left in it.

"I've got about four shots left and there are plenty more zombies than that," Jill said blandly.

"So we're trapped here with those creepy things all around us?!" Cera exclaimed. Everyone stood back to back as the monsters closed in on them from every direction.

"What are we going to do?" Ducky cried fearfully but no one could answer her.

"We have to do something!" Littlefoot called out, "We have to get to Westwood and the Red Phoenix!"

"But how?!" Petrie cawed as he dropped onto Cera's back making her jump. Just then, Jill noticed something behind the fleet of zombies heading their way. It was an overturned, double-decker London bus. She quickly got an idea. Raised her gun, she took aim and fired her remaining few shots at the base of the vehicle. The bullets cracked and pierced the bus allowing the remaining fuel to leak out and spread everywhere. Instantly, the petrol caught fire.

"Everyone get down!!!" Jill yelled as the flames burned more and more viciously over the bus. Diving to the ground, the gang looked on in shock as the bus suddenly exploded throwing great chunks of metal and shrapnel everywhere. With the eruption, every zombie within the blast radius was thrown from its position and launched into the square, landing in mangled heaps with a few of them becoming decapitated by the metal projectiles and crumbled to black dust.

"C'mon! Quickly!" Jill shouted standing up and running up the now cleared steps. Without wasting another moment, everyone jumped up and chased Jill up the stairs and out of the chaotic square as the torched creatures stood up and began trudging around again as if nothing had happened.

            Flying up the stairs, Jill, Stone and the gang ran down the dark streets of London and slowed to a stop unable to sprint anymore.

"I…think…we lost 'em," Littlefoot panted collapsing on the cold pavement.

"That…was a…close call," Ali said on her knees wheezing.

"Phew! Me no believe we escape those monsters…" Petrie gasped flopping down on Spike's face exhausted.

"That was some pretty quick thinking there Lieutenant," Stone smiled and clapped Jill on the back.

"All in a day's work," Jill said spinning her pistol in her hand and replacing it in its holder, "cost us the last of our ammunition though. We've gotta be a bit more careful when confronting these things since we are now pretty much defenceless."

"What about those glowing stick things you used when we were back in the Great Valley to fight the monsters?" Ali said poking the black handle of Jill's Laser Blade on her hip.

"Battery power's drained. It needs a bit of time to recharge," Stone said flicking his own Laser Blade out and trying to activate it but it flashed and fizzed meagrely before going out again. After slapping the useless black handle, Stone put it back in its holster on his waist.

"Hey? Aren't we missing someone?" he asked looking around with a puzzled expression.

"Erm…oh! Where is Littlefoot?" Ducky said quickly realising who the absentee was.

"He's over there," Cera said nodding to him stood on the side of the road. As soon as she saw him, Cera bounded over to Littlefoot's static position as he stared up with deadlocked eyes on something.

"Hey Littlefoot! What are you doing…way…over………here……" she said but trailed off as she took a glimpse at what Littlefoot was looking at.

"What are you two staring at?" Ali asked as she, Petrie, Spike and Ducky strolled over to them. They all then looked up.

"…Whhhoooaaaa…" Petrie breathed.

"What is it?" Ducky asked gasping.

"I don't know but something is telling me this is where we have to go," Littlefoot said slowly.

"You'd do good to follow that instinct Littlefoot," Jill said proudly as she and Stone walked over to them.

"What is that place?" Cera said sneeringly.

"That is the Red Phoenix Headquarters. This is where Westwood must be hiding out," Stone said cautiously crossing the road.

"We have to go in there?!" Cera exclaimed.

"Yup! I don't know how I knew but I could just sense something about it," Littlefoot said airily as he walked up the steps to the many double doors that sat buckled and twisted with their glass panels shattered.

"Maybe it's a response to the stones because even though I knew about this place, I could sense something strange about this crumbling old building," Jill explained.

"Do you believe in all of this magical stuff Jill?" Ali asked intrigued.

"I don't really know for sure. I guess I do in a sense but it's difficult to say. I've been on many a stranger mission but I never would have imagined I'd be fighting again my own employer and I've never come across anything supernatural like this," Jill said with a smile.

"Either way we have a mission to complete and we've gotta keep our guard up. This ruin could be swarming with more of these sick creatures if not more. Besides, I'm sure Westwood knows we're here," Stone said knocking the rest of the broken glass out of its frame, "watch your step and stay sharp. We've come this far but there is still plenty of room for things to go pear-shaped."

Everyone nodded and followed the sergeant as he clambered into the building being careful not cut themselves on the shards of glass littering the floor.


	18. Part 16: Infiltrating Enemy Ground

Chapter 57: The Tower of the Dead 

            High up in the executive section of the building, the Red Phoenix stood in the corner of the room with her arms folded as Westwood rummaged around in the filing cabinets and bookcases pulling out documents and reports from files and folders and dumping them on the broken oak desk.

"All these reports must be preserved if we want to this plan to go smoothly," Westwood said as he scurried backwards and forwards shifting masses of sheets of paper.

"All that paperwork is pretty much useless if there is no one around to read them," the Red Phoenix muttered dismissively.

"Now that's where you're wrong my dear. This paperwork will insure the next stage of the plan is set for when I take hold of this industry back before the super-virus annihilated everyone. I'm going to need a few more resources besides your magic power. Fortunately the safe remained untouched before that brat kid of yours infiltrated the building and compromised the entire thing," Westwood said without raising his eyes to her.

"So the boy was curious; so what? Shame I had to end it so soon though. Poor tyke didn't even get to realise his full potential."

"What are you saying? Your son could have just as easily obtained the power you have now?" Westwood said stopping and looking at her finally.

"Naturally. Any one of them could have. I gave the Warrior's Heart Ruby to Jason on that day he escaped to hide it from you. It was on that day I truly believed in the legend but looks like I was a little too late. I was hoping at the time Jason would realise it too but he was a bit too young," the Red Phoenix said.

"You can remember all of that from seven years ago? Not most people who are brought back from the dead can remember their past in such detail. I was almost afraid that your subconscious would not return fully once I revived you," Westwood said flatly.

"Even though I was killed in one sense, I lived on in another. These jewels are much more than just pretty stones. I believe a certain amount of essence from my dying spirit transferred over to Jason. I can't place it exactly but somewhere between me giving him the pendent and you shooting me…something happened."

"Humph…well let's hope that you can utilize your son's hidden power and use it to our advantage," Westwood said with an evil smirk as he returned to his files. The Red Phoenix smiled back but she then twitched as if something foul was in the air.

"Hmm?"

"What is it?" Westwood asked stopping his shifting for a second time. The Red Phoenix closed her eyes for a brief few seconds, opened them again and turned to the director with a sinister twinkle in her eye.

"They're here. I can sense the other two essences very close by," she announced.

"They certainly took their time…Wait a minute! TWO essences? I thought you crushed Littlefoot earlier? How can he still be alive?" Westwood blurted out.

"I did. He must have survive somehow," the Red Phoenix said blandly, "don't worry about it. I'll give our little trespassers a guided tour." She smiled malevolently.

"Good. It will give me time to pack these files and get to the Chronos Doorway up and running. I'll call you when I need you to re-activate the doorway," Westwood said hurryingly.

"No rush, I want to enjoy this," the evil woman drooled as she levitated off the ground and floated out the room.

            Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Red Phoenix building, Jill, Sergeant Stone and the dinosaur children wandered slowly and cautiously further and further in.

"This place spooky…" Petrie said through chattering teeth as they trudged passed the broken golden phoenix fountain as it lay in pieces.

"This is were it all started…the virus, the experiments, all of it. It was all happening right under our noses but only a few really knew the truth about what was going on here. Even we were oblivious to the evil works undergone within these walls," Stone said as he approached the reception desk.

"This is also where Jason's mother worked. She was one of the top scientists in the energetics department and it was her who first discovered the first Stone of Essence. I read her profile and countless dossiers on her works. She was greatly admired amongst her colleagues," Jill said as she checked the lifts which were inactive, "Lifts are down. Looks like we're taking the stairs."

"Where is Westwood? Is he even here?" Ali asked as they climbed the first flight.

"Yes…Jason's mother is here so Westwood must be here too," Littlefoot announced immediately.

"How do you know?" Cera asked whirling around and staring at Littlefoot a little shocked.

"For some reason…I can sense Jason's mother around here. I can't explain it very well…I just know…" Littlefoot replied looking back at her with a serious expression.

"But where? Where could he be?" Ducky yapped. Just as she finished her question, the stairwell trembled slightly.

"W-ww-what was that?" Ali chattered nervously as she regained her balance but was quickly thrown around by another, stronger set of tremors.

"What going on? Is it an earthshake?" Petrie suggested landing on Jill's shoulder.

"Dunno…" Stone replied. Suddenly, there was a tremendous crashing from below them. Turning to face the noise, the group shrieked as they saw the stairs tumbling down, one by one, from behind them.

"Whoa! Run for it! The stairs are collapsing!" Jill shouted as she took off up the remaining stairwell. Flying further and further up, the dropping stairs continued to chase them as they climbed higher.

"I…don't know…how long I…can't keep this…up…" Cera wheezed.

"It is not stopping! Keep going Spike!" Ducky chanted as the hefty, young Stegosaurus tried hard to stay ahead of the tumbling steps just under his heels. As the numbers of the floors blurred passed, everyone continued to fly up the stair but the steps were gradually catching them. Jill then looked up at the stairs and saw a door at the top of them.

"Everyone! Follow me!" Jill ordered as she jumped up the last few steps and shoulder-barged the door open throwing it inwards. Stone and the gang promptly followed suit as the crashing stairs stopped on the floor they had gotten off at. Breathing a great sigh of relief, Littlefoot and his friends collapsed on the ground as Jill and Stone propped themselves up against the walls panting heavily.

"What…in…the world…was…that…about…?!" Cera gasped completely sprawled out on the marble floor.

"Probably one of Westwood and the Phoenix's tricks. My guess is that there are plenty more around," Stone said slowly standing up straight again.

"That was very scary, it was, it was!" Ducky said as she rubbed Spike's back as he recovered.

"Well, looks like we won't be going back the way we came up. May as well press on," Jill said dismissively. Once everyone had recovered the majority of their stamina, the group stood up and followed Jill and Stone deeper into the building.

            Wandering down the dark corridors, Jill and the sergeant led the gang through the maze of meeting rooms and laboratories.

"Where exactly are we going?" Ali asked breaking the silence.

"Are we looking for Westwood?" Ducky followed feeling a bit more comfortable about talking now someone else had started.

"We're taking a quick detour. Our office is on this floor so we can stock up on some ammo and other equipment. Something tells me we are gonna need as much help as we can get when it comes to the showdown with Westwood," Stone replied glancing over his shoulder. Turning the next corner, the group found themselves strolling down a narrow hall with labs alternately positioned either side. The lights had been destroyed and the gang were starting to feel nervous as the area grew darker and darker.

"Kinda dark down here…" Littlefoot said a little shakily.

"Lights probably got wrecked in some of the previous bombings years ago," Stone replied feeling his way along the wall.

"So why are some working but others aren't?" Ali asked.

"Maybe this section's had its power severed from the main generator. Back up ones have probably blown out too," Jill answered calmly.

"Arrrggghhh!" Cera screamed suddenly causing everyone to jump forward.

"What is it Cera?!" Jill called urgently.

"Something's got me! It's on my head!" she shrieked.

"That me Cera! Me on your head!" Petrie announced from out of the darkness. Realising it was a false alarm, everyone sighed.

"Petrie! Don't ever do that again?! Did you want to scare me to death?" Cera scorned.

"Sorry…" Petrie said sheepishly.

"C'mon kids., let's keep moving. And no more surprises please," Jill asked sweetly. No sooner had Jill spoken, there came a husky breathing sound from around their area.

"Wh-whh-what was that ss-sssound?" Ali said trembling at the noise.

"What sound?" Ducky asked nervously.

"That low hissing sound…" Ali replied shrinking up so she could feel someone else pressed against her.

"I didn't hear anything," Littlefoot said but was now feeling incredibly insecure.

"If this is some sort of a joke, it's not funny Ali," Cera muttered bitterly.

"Do you think I'd be joking at a time like this?!" Ali blurted a little louder than she meant to. Jill hissed them silence as she felt something crunch underfoot.

"Uh oh, there's broken glass on the ground. You lot can't come any further or you'll slice your feet up," Stone said cautiously stepping on the shards of glass littering the floor.

"What?! You're just gonna leave us here?!" Cera bellowed.

"Well……yeah…" Stone replied dumbly.

"Oh please do don't leave us alone in the dark Mr. Stone. I do not like it here, oh no, no, no," Ducky whined.

"If you walk on the glass you won't be walking for much longer after that," Stone barked harshly causing Ducky to groan unhappily.

"Hang on a sec. I'll see if my Laser Blade is charged enough yet," Jill suggested feeling for her blade's handle on her hip. With a hand on it, Jill quickly switched it on as the luminous, machete-type blade appeared but flickered almost instantly from yellow to a faint red.

"Battery powers still weak. Hurry up before it goes out," Jill said holding the red light to the ground and sweeping a path clear with her foot for the dinosaurs to get safely through. In a single filed line, Littlefoot and the others waddled along the cleared path keeping a sharp eye out for the glistening of glass fragments dusting the floor. When they reached about half way, Jill's blade crackled and flickered before going out completely.

"What happened?" Ali asked bumping into the back of Spike having not realised the line had stopped moving.

"Dammit…battery's died again," Jill cursed slapping the handle trying to get it working again.

"What do we do now?" Ducky asked feeling claustrophobic.

"I dunno…grrr…if only the lights were on so we could see," Stone mumbled irritably. As if to respond to his plea, the narrow hall's lights suddenly snapped and cracked into life illuminating the area.

"Wow…now THAT…was freaky…" Jill said looking around to see what could have activated the lights.

"How did you do that Mr. Stone?" Littlefoot asked expecting him to know. Stone just shrugged his shoulders and put on a dumbfounded expression.

            With the lights now functioning, the gang felt much more comfortable as they leapt over the final, glass-littered section of the ground and continued towards the Red Phoenix Squadron's office. No one said a word as they progressed down the still very eerie corridor. Strangely, even though the area was clear of any signs of life besides themselves, Ali couldn't tear her mind away from the sound she heard earlier. It kept giving her the spine-chilling sensation that something was watching them. To her horror, another low, icy hissing grew around her forcing her to gasp and glance behind.

"What is it Ali?" Petrie asked being the only one to pick up on her frightened, little squeal.

"I…erm…thought I heard something…" Ali replied tensely as she felt her heart drumming inside her.

"What sound?" Petrie asked hovering above her as she examined the empty hallway behind them.

"I don't know. It sounded like a hissing but…" Ali started but stopped as she felt a soft gust of wind breeze past her face and caused the viewing windows of the labs either side of the corridor to rattle slightly. Gasping, Ali whipped around trying to locate the source of the disturbance.

"Hey! What's the hold up back there? Come on," Stone called to the two of them standing a few metres behind. Ali stood frozen in place still looking around.

"Ali? What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked reading the distressed expression carved on her face.

"Something's here…something's watching us…I can sense it…" Ali mumbled anxiously. The gang all looked at each other in confusion.

"Ali, are you feeling okay? Do you want to stop for a bit?" Jill suggested but was shocked to see Ali's head snap around to stare directly into blacken laboratory through the window.

"Ali? What's…" Jill started but was interrupted as Ali suddenly turned tail and darted back the way they came.

"Ali!!!" Littlefoot called after her.

"Where's she going?" Cera barked indignantly. As they all began to give chase, the window where Ali was looking suddenly shattered and a massive, sickly creature leapt out into their path.

"Aaarrrggghhh!!! What is that!?!" Ducky screamed in panic. Staring down at it, the creature was easily nine feet long. Its skin was a sunburnt red and stood like a gecko with its body hanging a few inches off the floor but it looked like it was some form of a human with razor sharp claws as front feet. The monster gave its characteristic husky breathing sound as a snake-like tongue hung out of its drooling mouth and wrapped around its jagged jaw line hungrily.

"What the hell is that creep?!" Stone yelled. In response, the lizard-type human charged at him lashing its tongue around like a weapon. Screaming, the gang tried to dodge the creature as best they could in the narrow hallway as it rapidly shifted its sickly body along the floor ripping great chunks of marble out of the polished surface. Barely escaping a dangerous slash to his legs, Stone leapt to the side as the creature then stopped again.

"Jeez! What the…" Stone panted but the creature quickly turned in his direction again and attacked again. It leapt up and tried to claw at Stone's head but he ducked it as the swipe past treacherously close to him and tore large slash marks into the wall. Just as it finished its attack, it then picked up on Ducky screaming and it then turned towards her and Spike. Horrified, Spike tried desperately to leap out of the way before the monster charged for him but he wasn't fast enough. As the creature approached them, slithering across the ground, Jill then shouted out to it.

"Hey! Over here you sick tree frog!" Forgetting its original target, the creature then turned towards Jill.

"Yeah! That's right! I'm talking to you freaky lizard! Come get some!" Jill taunted to it. Instantly, the beast launched itself directly at her but she slapped the wall a few times making a rippling echo down the hall before rolling to one side. Thinking Jill was still in the same place, the monster began roaring and clawing at the wall viciously.

"What the hell was…" Stone started but Jill thrust her hand over his mouth to silence him.

"Be quiet you moron! It will hear you otherwise…" Jill hissed lowly as the echoing over her hand slaps slowly dissipated. Ripping Jill's hand from his face, Stone looked at Jill extremely ticked off.

"What are you babbling about?!" Stone whispered back hotly.

"Everyone keep your voices down and don't make too much noise…that thing can't see us coz it's blind but it can hear every sound you make," Jill warned as the creature suddenly stopped attacking the wall having nearly pawed all the way through it.

"That mutant thing is sensitive to sound and vibration…watch…" Jill whispered as she slowly bent down and picked up a shard of broken glass and rolled it down the corridor. As it rattled and clattered down the hall, the monster quickly took after it and attacked the ground repeatedly where it stopped. Everyone looked on in shock as it dug its way through the thick marble slabs and into the concrete.

"What do we do? We can't run away otherwise it will chase us," Cera hissed. As the monster continued its assault on the ground, Jill bent down and picked up another piece of glass and threw it a little further down the hall. Like a bullet from a gun, the beast clambered along the floor to its next target leaving gaping holes with its erratic movements. Following her example, Stone picked up another shard and threw it even further to trick the monster into moving further away. Once it was a reasonable distance away, Jill signalled for everyone to move out.

"Let's get outta here," Stone said taking the lead.

"But what about Ali? Where did she go?" Littlefoot asked. To his terror, he heard thundering crashes coming from behind him. Turning around, he could see the lizard creature heading for them. Unable to remain calm, Littlefoot broke into a run in order to escape it. Still a considerable distance away, the monster sat down, opened its mouth and shot its tongue out at Littlefoot like a missile. Its tongue latched onto Littlefoot hind leg and pulled him off his feet. As he felt his chin hit the hard floor, Littlefoot felt his body being dragged across the ground back towards the creature's open jaws.

"Aarrrggghhh!!! Help me!!!" Littlefoot yelled terrified. Everyone shouted out to the monster in order to distract it but it ignored them and continued to inch Littlefoot closer and closer to its face.

"What now?!" Cera cried helplessly. Jill, then, quickly darted towards Littlefoot as he tried frantically to pull himself away but the slippery surface offered no traction. Taking his feet, Jill tried to pull him back and managed to halt it from pulling him in. As she struggled with Littlefoot, Jill failed to notice creature spitting at her angrily. Jill flinched and released her grip as some of its saliva made contact with her arm as it sizzled and burned on her skin.

"Uurrrgghhh! It's saliva is concentrated sulphuric acid!" Jill said as winced at the burning.

            The creature showed no signs of slowing at Littlefoot continued to panic as he approached its jaws. Helplessly, Jill tried to think of a way to rescue him but time was running out. Suddenly, Stone jumped down next to her.

"Here, take this!" he said handing her a bottle, "it's from one of the labs. Use it! You said that thing's saliva is pure acid right?" Jill nodded and looked down at the clear, glass bottle that contained a colourless liquid with a label on it reading "Ethanol".

"A little bucket chemistry! Let's go!" Stone said to her with a sinister smirk. Smiling darkly, they both ran towards the monster and threw the bottles into its mouth. Still with its grip on Littlefoot, the creature chomped on the bottles breaking them open and spilling the liquid into its mouth and onto the floor around it. Suddenly, a loud hissing erupted from the monster's mouth as the liquid and its acidic saliva reacted with each other causing it to bubble and froth. With the creature momentarily subdued, Jill took hold of Littlefoot and grabbed a piece of glass and sliced through the creature's tongue releasing him. As the monster squealed in pain, Stone took a lighter from one of his pouches and flicked a flame up. The monster writhed whilst Jill pulled Littlefoot to safety; Stone dropped the lighter on the ground which instantly ignited the ethanol the monster was drenched in. The lizard creature roared as the flames tore over its body and engulfed it as its sulphuric saliva continued to sizzling in its mouth. As Jill, Stone and Littlefoot rejoined the group, they watched as the flames continued to crackle menacingly and worked its way inside its mouth.

"Littlefoot! Are you alright?!" Ducky called to him as he flopped down exhausted.

"Yeah. Thanks Mr. Stone…Jill…" Littlefoot said to them smiling which they replied with smiled of their own.

            The monster started to scream louder as the fire made its way down its throat catching the gang's attention immediately.

"Erm…Jill?" Stone said slowly but potently as he watch the creature pawing gingerly at its belly.

"What's up?" Jill replied airily also watching the monster squirm in agony.

"You don't suppose that thing's stomach is filled with sulphuric acid do you?" Stone asked curiously. Before Jill could answer, the lizard collapsed and gave one last ear-splitting squeal before exploding throwing pieces of its flesh all over the corridor in a massive bloody cloud. Having taken cover on seeing the monster fall to the ground, everyone stood up slowly and cringed at the unsightly mess the explosion had caused.

"Ewww…that is so disgusting!" Cera said indignantly unable to look at the walls and ceiling that dripped and trickled blood.

"Well…that's the end of that creepy crawler," Stone said turning around to continue towards their office but he stopped when Littlefoot hissed in pain.

"What's wrong kid?" he asked him from over his shoulder.

"My back leg is really stinging…I think some of that funny watery stuff from the monster's mouth fell on me," Littlefoot said limping. Jill knelt down to examine his injury.

"Oooooo…that looks nasty. Some of the sulphuric acid has singed your skin. There isn't an awful lot I can do about it because it has already been absorbed. You'll just have to bear with it, the pain will go eventually," Jill told him softly. Littlefoot nodded bravely but looked at his slightly blistered leg concerned before following Jill and Stone.

"Hey! What about Ali? We no going to find her?" Petrie asked urgently.

"We'll have to find her later. I'm sure she'll be alright since all she has to do is follow this corridor down," Stone said rather brutishly which made the gang shuffle uncomfortably.

"Don't worry guys, we'll find her again. We just need to kit up and then we'll search for her. I'm sure she'll be okay," Jill said a little more sincerely. Still a little unsure, the gang pressed on with their minds firmly planted on Ali's safety.

            Meanwhile, Ali found herself wandering an area of office cubicles feeling extremely self-conscious. Everything looked the same with nothing to show her the way back to her friends.

"Oh…where am I? Why did I run away from everybody like that? I wish I didn't now…" Ali whined silently. With her head low, she moved from one cubicle to the next trying to find a way back. Suddenly, Ali stopped and found two, black objects directly under her nose. Gulping, she slowly looked up and gasped as he looked at what was in front of her.

"Hello sweet child…Fancy meeting you here. Enjoying your stroll around the office blocks? Allow me to show you some of its more interesting features…" Westwood drooled. Ali stared deep into his cold, grey eyes fearfully but he smiled malevolently down on her forcing her to curl up. Unable to stare at him any longer, Ali turned tail and tried to flee the area but she skidded to a halt as the Red Phoenix floated down in front of her boxing her in.

"Hey cutie! Where you off to in a hurry? Lose your friends did ya?" she said sweetly whilst wearing an evil smirk. Ali slowly backed away from her terrified as the evil woman stepped towards her. Unknowing where she was going, Ali walked backwards into an office cubicle where the Red Phoenix psychically shut the doors around her trapping her inside. Paralysed with fear, Ali stared up the Red Phoenix pleading with her not to kill her.

"Don't worry…I wouldn't harm you but you will be coming with me. Now sleep…no more tears…you'll be fine," she assured her as she raised a hand to Ali's head. Still petrified, Ali felt a gentle, sweet breeze brush over her face which she drew into her lungs with each panic-stricken breath. The air made her free incredibly dizzy and drowsy as her world grew brighter and brighter until see could see anymore. Once her vision was a sheet of brilliant white, Ali felt something snap and she quickly fell unconscious. Once she was completely tranquillised, the Red Phoenix lowered her hand and signalled to Westwood who stood outside with his arms folded across his chest having no moved from his place. Picking Ali's cataleptic body up effortlessly, she followed Westwood up a flight of stairs and deeper into the building.

Chapter 58: Humans and Dinosaurs Divided 

            Still in the laboratory section of the decaying building, Jill and Sergeant Stone continued to lead the way down the glowing hallways to their office closely followed by Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike. Since their attack from the hideous human-lizard mutant, none of them had spoken a word. Both Jill and Stone knew that the five of them were desperately thinking of Ali's welfare and nothing assuring could be said to take their minds off of her.

"Not far now. Just a few more corners to turn then we'll be at our office ready to kit up," Stone said merrily trying to break the tension that had flooded over the group like a suffocating blanket that had robbed them of their voices.

"Hey c'mon. Chin up you miserable lot! We'll get you friend back once we sort our equipment out, which won't take two minutes, we'll be hot on her trail in no time. So come on! Put on a happy face!" he continued to chirp. The gang looked up at Stone giving him a variety of expressions. Littlefoot, Ducky and Spike, after a few seconds, all smiled weakly, Petrie looked around unmoved by his words and Cera just grunted and held her head high mumbling something along the lines of: "What an idiot…" Stone dropped his fake smile and turned back to the way he was facing. He glanced over at Jill who was also wearing a rather downfallen mien.

"Don't tell me you got the hump as well Lieutenant," Stone grumbled rolling his eyes.

"Nah. Just trying to imagine how hard this is for those little guys," Jill said softly so the others couldn't hear.

"What d'ya mean? They seem fine to me," Stone argued dismissively taking another look at the gang whose heads had swiftly returned to their gravity fighting, hanging position.

"They must feel so lost. Millions of years from their own rightful place in the world fighting a battle that will ultimately seem fruitless to them despite its magnitude," Jill sighed almost mournfully.

"So you're saying that saving the entire fabric of time and history as we know it is not as important as we're making it out to be? What could possibly have a much higher importance then that?" Stone said blandly. Jill looked at him with large eyes as he locked onto her with a dumb face.

"They have experienced enough hardship in their young lives without having to participate in a battle that they not really supposed to be involved in. This is supposed to be between us humans, not them. It was just unfortunate that a certain catalyst forced them to join us."

"What you getting at? You mean the kid who was killed back in the dinosaur era?" Stone bellowed a little louder than he meant to. With a quick check to see if they had picked up on his sentence, which none of them seemed to have done, Stone turned back to Jill.

"Exactly. I was torn to pieces but the way they wept over Jason's death. I have been trained to kill, something I have witnessed and dealt to living, breathing people countless times and I always shrugged it off as part of the mission…blocked it out and ignored all the tears and pain others were feeling. Even when we lost men on assignments, the very people I had trained and learned from as well as lead as a commanding officer, nothing got to me more than seeing those kids nudging and pleading with Jason's corpse to move again. I tell you Serge…that really did crush me. Everything I had trained and worked hard for in order to get my ranking seemed…futile and pointless. I've never felt such raw emotion before…not even when my parents and boyfriend were killed in the virus outbreak."

"Don't tell me you're going soft all of a sudden Jill. This isn't the time to be getting all mushy and teary-eyed. The fact remained that we were trained to do a job; that's it. It was just all profession and not to be taken home with you at the end of the day. We both knew what would be involved and we made our decisions in what we wanted to do. Right now, this is the most highly classified mission of our careers and it will undoubtedly be our last. I mean c'mon. We're waging war on our own employing company for gawd sakes. Once we complete this one…we won't have to think about any of this crap anymore. Everything will be as it was…"

"I guess so. It's just that I never would have suspected that our own supplier of weapons, medical equipment, the lot, would all be the one we have to then turn around and use those same weapons on in order to fight against. This is not how I wanted to end my career as a serving militant and upholder of law and order. Destroying the very thing that taught me all that in the first place. To be strong and fight for justice. I…I just don't know what 'justice' is anymore. Our captain, numerous dinosaurs and even a teenaged aged child were killed in what we classed as a standard extraction and interrogation mission." Jill turned away from Stone sighing defeated but Stone thrust his hands to her shoulders and lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Pull it together Jill! Get a grip! If you fall apart now we're already doomed to fail. Despite all the crap that Westwood has laid down in front of us we have to overcome it. We have to fight for those lost, especially our leader and Jason. The best we can do is avenge their deaths and prevent a madman in succeeding in the destruction of the world as he remember it. This may not be the ideal mission to end a spotless career on but by hell it is definitely one worth fighting for. We have to do our utmost to protect this planet from Westwood's evil hand," Stone barked fiercely yet compassionately.

"……Ss-s…Serge……!!!" Jill gasped breathlessly but Stone shook his head as he dragged his arms off her shoulders and rolled into her hands.

"I want to bring that maniac down for what he did to our squadron. Our teammates…our leader…and above all…what he is about to do to our home but I know that I can't do this by myself. I need to be strong but I need someone else to be strong with me…" Stone said boldly holding up their cupped hands to eye level. Jill's expression instantly switched from despaired to a spirited smile as his words sunk in. Stone smiled as well seeing Jill's face light up as they stood there gazing at each other.

"Err umm…if you two are quite finished…we have an insane human to stop. Not to mention finding Ali!" Cera tutted barging past them. Having shattered the atmosphere like brittle china, Stone immediately snatched his hands away from Jill's and placed them in his pockets feeling a little uncomfortable. Jill gingerly lowered her arms to her side and looked back at the young sergeant who seemed to be deliberately avoiding her eyes. Smiling again, Jill looked back at the rest of the gang who were all beaming with glistening eyes.

"What? What is it?" Jill asked curiously.

"Oh…nothing…" Littlefoot said airily as he marched past with an unfading smirk closely followed by a merrily humming Spike complete with Ducky and Petrie giggling on his back.

"What? What's so funny you lot?" Jill asked watching them walk away still smirking and sniggering. Hands firmly planted on her hips, Jill shook her head and started after them. She didn't get very far when the viewing windows of the labs either side of her erupted at exactly the same moment throwing slivers of glass everywhere. The surprises didn't stop there as the doors burst open and more zombified creatures flopped out into the corridor. Stone and the gang whirled around to see Jill struggling with one zombie wearing a technician's white lab coat.

"Jill!" Littlefoot cried as he saw the monster trying to sink its teeth into her ankle. More zombies picked themselves up from off the glass littered floor and started towards Littlefoot. Shrieking, Littlefoot hopped backwards distancing himself from diseased creature as Stone jumped forward to take his place. The sergeant then lifted his leg and delivered a heavy kick to the zombie's head sending it spinning and somersaulting wildly down the corridor knocking over all those next to it.

"Jill!…Jill come on!" Stone shouted to her and he shoulder barged another one back through the window from whence it came.

"Get going! I'll catch you up!" Jill said thumping an approaching zombie in the chest still tussling with the other zombie hanging onto her foot.

"Come on Jill! Let's go!" Cera hollered as she saw Spike tear past her.

"I'm…I'm coming!" she called back finally freeing her leg from the living shackle which fumbled to get it back. Jill then stomped her foot down with all her might on the zombie's skull. The decayed head made a sickening crunching sound as Jill's heavy boot ploughed straight through its cranium shattering it like an over-ripened fruit. Jill broke into a run, knocking down the surrounding creatures blocking her way as she charged after Stone escaping with Littlefoot and his friends.

"Where did those guys come from?" Cera called as she skidded around a corner ramming Spike into the wall as he ran parallel to her.

"Me no know! They not there a second ago then BOOM!" Petrie exclaimed throwing his hands into the air.

"Where's Jill?" Littlefoot asked urgently.

"She is coming up behind us, she is!" Ducky replied pointing to her from her perch atop Spike.

"C'mon kids! Our office is around the next bend!" Stone announced as he waved to Jill to hurry up.

            Racing around the final corner, Stone and the gang pulled up outside the squadron's office. As Stone pulled out his keycard to unlock the door, Jill slowed to a halt next to them. Stone passed his card through the reader and the blinking light flickered from red to green and the lock was released. Jill pushed her way to the front and followed Stone into the small room filled with numerous desks, a weapons rack, filing cabinets that were as high as the ceiling and loose documents floating around on the hurried breeze Jill and Stone made with their rapid movements. Littlefoot was the first one to poke his head through the doorway and into the office as he watched Jill and Stone snatch various items from around the room.

"This where you live?" Petrie asked naively finding a clear spot to land on Littlefoot's head.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Stone said without looking at them as he grabbed some more ammunition and stuffing it into his already full ammo pouch.

"Human stuff is so weird! What do you need all this stuff for anyways?" Cera said almost in disgust.

"Well it's…" Jill started but was stopped by a trembling sound coming from above them.

"What was that?" she asked eyeing the ceiling suspiciously.

"Dunno," Stone replied as the shaking suddenly increased.

"It feels like an earthshake is happening in this very small space!" Ducky chattered nervously. Just as she finished her sentence, the whole area shook violently and the rumbling grew until it was deafening. Suddenly, the ceiling split and gave way allowing debris from the floor above to come crashing down into the tiny office. The gang screamed in terror as one of the massive filing cabinets buckled under the impact of a marble slab landing on it and it toppled towards them. With nowhere to run, the gang all huddled up in the corner as the cabinet tumbled down on them. A few seconds later, tremors had ceased and the gang, who sat still trembling in each others company, looked up slowly as the dust slowly settled in front of their eyes. To their shock, they saw the metal cabinet had formed an awkwardly positioned bridge over them supported only by the wall on the other side.

"Phew! That was too close," Littlefoot sighed unfurling from in between Spike and Cera.

"Humph! Petrie no scared! Petrie knew that would happen!" Petrie boasted standing upright and puffing himself up. He then cringed slightly at something groaning.

"What that sound?" he quickly asked as the groaning grew louder. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Petrie was struck from behind and sent flying from his perch on top of Littlefoot to land on his face on dusty carpet. Shaking his head to rid himself of the daze, Petrie looked up to find the gang laughing at him.

"I guess that huge shiny thing showed you Petrie," Ducky chuckled. Petrie looked up at the cabinet and saw that one of the drawers had rolled out and hit him from behind.

"Ooooo…me never see that one coming….oowwee!" Petrie groaned rubbing the back of his head. Whilst he massaged his injury, a shuffling was heard just across the way from them. The gang gasped as something emerged from under the rubble that laid sprawled across the floor in random positions. As the rocks levitated off the ground, everyone was relieved to find Jill and Stone standing up covered in a fine, white powder.

"AHHHHH!!! GHOSTS!!" Cera screeched diving for cover.

"Cera, get a hold of yourself girl! It's just us you nutter!" Jill laughed as she slapped the dust off her clothes. Cera slowly looked up and saw Jill standing in place where the phantom had been a second ago.

"I knew that!" Cera said pouting her lips trying to re-establish the dignity she threw away in her cowardly dive. The gang sniggered but instantly straightened their faces when Cera threw them a deathly look.

"Enough fooling around," Stone said picking up his rifle, "we've got to…" His was cut short by a clanging sound ringing from down the corridor.

"What's that now?" Cera asked glancing in the direction of the sound as it gradually came closer and got increasingly louder.

"It sounds like metal on the marble floor…" Stone analysed but he was quickly drawn to Jill who gasped with the sound nearly upon them.

"Oh God! The emergency fire shutters! They're sectioning off the area because of the cave-in!" Jill called fretfully.

"The what?!" Littlefoot asked as he followed everyone's gaze outside.

"It's the shutters! Quick! Get outside!" Jill ordered flapping to the dinosaur gang to flee the room. Still confused, the gang looked to see a heavy metal door sliding down over the exit.

"Hurry!" Jill shouted. Everyone took off to get through the doorway before it sealed them in. Petrie slipped through chased by Cera, Littlefoot and Spike sliding under it with Ducky clinging on for dear life. Before Jill or Stone could get to the door, the metal shutter slammed in place sealing them in their own office.

"Great!" Stone growled pounding on the metal security door.

"Jill, Mr. Stone! Are you alright?" Littlefoot called to them.

"We're okay Littlefoot but we are trapped in here. You have to go on without us," Jill told him. Littlefoot couldn't quite believe what he had just been told.

"Wha?…Go on without you? B-but…how?!" he stammered. Before he received a reply, Littlefoot then heard the same sound of more fire shutters starting to close and seal off the area.

"Littlefoot! Listen to me! We don't have much time! You've got to find Westwood! He'll probably be up on the top floors somewhere! Get going!" Jill shouted through the thick, steel door.

"But…" Littlefoot stuttered.

"Littlefoot come on! We're gonna get shut in here! We've gotta go!" Cera beckoned to him from the other side of the slowly closing shutter.

"Littlefoot go! You've gotta stop Westwood!" Jill called again.

"But what about you? We can't just leave you in there!" Littlefoot protested.

"Don't worry about us. Just get yourselves up to the higher floors and get Westwood! Prevent him from using those sacred stones!" Jill said. Littlefoot looked anxiously from his friends and back to the sealed doorway into the office.

"Jill…I…I don't know if I can…" Littlefoot said nervously.

"You can! Just believe in yourself! You and your friends can defeat Westwood and the Red Phoenix. Just trust your instincts and nothing else! Now GO!" Jill yelled until her voice went hoarse. Littlefoot backed away from the door apprehensively.

"Come on Littlefoot! Move it!" Cera bellowed to him as the fire shutter glided closer and closer to the ground. Littlefoot nodded and then turned and sprinted to the shutter. Still with a considerable distance to go, Littlefoot felt a cold chill shudder down his spine as the door approached the floor.

"LITTLEFOOT!!!" Ducky cried as she lost sight of him. Littlefoot, responding to her call, leapt to the shutter and slid the remaining distance to the door. The shutter was almost touching the ground as Littlefoot lowered his head and slipped under it. The heavy metal door crashed to the ground as Littlefoot pawed the polished floor trying hard to stop himself from colliding with the wall.

"Phew!….Made it……" he said breathing heavily as a wave of excited energy continued to course through his body making him jittery.

"You took your time," Cera scolded.

"Well, at least he is here now," Ducky said smiling.

"Erm…Me hate to be rude but those big, shiny things are still coming down," Petrie said pointing to more shutters starting to fall.

"Okay. Come on guys! We've got to get up to the top," Littlefoot said leading the way.

"But where are we supposed to go? We're gonna end up getting lost!" Cera snapped as they narrowly passed under another metal security door.

"Don't worry, we can find Westwood. Jill told me the way," Littlefoot replied as they turned the corner and slid under the last shutter. As it came down behind them, the gang sat panting heavily at the base of a long, wide staircase that seemed to constantly lead upwards into darkness. With no way to turn back, the gang lifted themselves up and, nervously, one-by-one, walked up the steps to the executive suites and to where, they were guessing, Westwood would be waiting for them.

Chapter 59: Some Things You See With Your Eyes 

            Nerves were running raw as they slowly climbed the wide, dark staircase up to the executive suit of the Red Phoenix Labs building. The area was deathly silent apart from the clapping of their jittery footsteps and their shallow, forceful breathing that rang out bouncing off every surface around them like dry, rasping snakes crawling on the ceiling and walls. They had been climbing for a while now and there didn't seem to be an end to the miles of steps that continued to rise up and up.

"Me getting tired…" Petrie sighed forcing his body to stay airborne.

"Where exactly are we heading?" Cera asked abruptly through breathless wheezes.

"I don't know. Jill said that we should get up as high as possible and we should find Westwood there," Littlefoot replied.

"But what will we do when we get there? I do not think he will stop doing all these bad things if we ask him," Ducky said rather glumly.

"I…don't know…All I do know is that we have to try…" Littlefoot said boldly. Despite his strong words, Littlefoot could feel an overwhelming sense of dread springing up deep inside him. The sheer magnitude of the emotion was like a raging fire burning in the pit of his stomach which made him feel very nauseated. Still, in amongst that flaming inferno that scorched his insides, something was driving him to press on and confront the evil that was awaiting them up ahead. For the life of him, he could not tell what it was but he knew it could not be allowed to survive.

            The scaling of the never-ending staircase went on and on, still with no signs of coming to an end. Strangely, the temperature of the area dropped sharply and a chilling wind swept the hall.

"Brrrr…why it suddenly get so cold?!" Petrie exclaimed giving in to the cold and perching behind Cera's neckshield.

"It is soooo chilly…" Ducky shivered blowing into her hand to warm them.

"What's going on? It's suddenly gotten really cold and these stupid rock steps just keep going and going," Cera moaned puffing great clouds through her mouth.

"It no look like we going anywhere. It like we standing in one place," Petrie cawed draping himself in his wings like a cape. Littlefoot stopped and looked around for a moment. As Petrie had described, the exit at the top of the stairs didn't appear to be getting any closer despite draining themselves climbing more and more steps. It took a few moments for the gang to realise that Littlefoot had stopped as they glanced back and retraced their steps to draw level with him.

"What is it Littlefoot?" Ducky asked rubbing her arms to keep the blood flowing through them.

"Something's wrong. How can we have climbed all this way and not be out yet? It doesn't make sense," he said puzzled.

"Hey look! It that big shiny thing that shut us in; it right behind us. But we climb for so long. How can it still be right there?" Petrie said scratching his head in confusion.

"It looks like it is following us. Lookie!" Ducky said as Spike walked backwards up the stairs. A little perplexed by their peculiar discovery, all of them copied Spike and to their shock, the fire shutter that had sealed them in was the same distance away from them from where they started despite having climbed a few step, rather awkwardly, in reverse.

"Ducky's right. It IS following us. We are just moving in the same place," Littlefoot announced stopping.

"So what then? Are we just gonna keep walking in here forever in the dark?" Cera grumbled unhelpfully. At that moment, Spike lost his footing and he tumbled down a few steps coming to an graceless stop a little way from the sturdy, fire shutter. Ducky, who had managed to abandon her seat on top of Spike, quickly hurried down to his aid.

"Spike?! Are you all right? Are you hurt?" she cooed sympathetically. Spike found his feet again and hummed in response. Ducky, however, was stood gaping at Spike's back end.

"Spike! What has happened to your tail!!!" she squeaked gawking at him. Intrigued, the hefty, young stegosaurus turned to find that the last five or six inches of his stubby, little tail had completely disappeared. Panicking, Spike wiggled his tail as best he could but strangely, he could feel every inch on it working. He quickly retracted it and examined it closely for any signs of damage in the dim light but to his relief, it was still in one piece.

"What the…?!? How did you manage to do that Spike?" Cera exclaimed with a hanging jaw. Spike simply shook his head in greater confusion as Littlefoot approached.

"It was like Spike's tail went right through the wall!" he called out in astonishment.

"Do it again Spike," Ducky urged. Apprehensively, Spike raised his tail and slowly moved it towards the wall again and as before, his tail pierced the darkened wall and was going through it.

"Just what is going on here? Is this some sort of weird human thing?" Cera suggested. Ignoring her question, the gang all slowly walked to the wall to investigate it.

"Maybe we can do it too," Ducky said as Spike pulled his tail out of the wall again and moving away from it as it made him feel very uncomfortable.

"I'm not touching it!" Cera snapped bluntly.

"So who will then?" Littlefoot asked looking at the others but none of them met his eyes. Cera then got a rather sinister idea. With Petrie clasping loosely to her neckshield, she dipped her head suddenly catching him off guard. Rolling with her sharp head movement, Petrie then felt Cera flick her head up again violently. With no time to react, Petrie was thrown from his position, shot straight through the wall and landed with a loud thump on the other side. The remaining four looked at each other anxiously.

"Did he make it? Is he okay?" Littlefoot asked openly. They then heard a groaning sound coming from the wall.

"Ooooooo!!! When me get hands on you Cera!!!" Petrie voice rang out cursing threateningly through the bizarre wall.

"Are you all right Petrie?" Ducky shouted to him.

"Me fine but Cera won't be when she get over here," he replied forewarningly.

"I guess that means it's okay then," Littlefoot said shrugging but Cera was still not fully convinced.

"After you then," she said bowing and stepping backwards to allow him plenty of room. Cocking his head and glancing at her with a slightly irritated expression, Littlefoot turned to the wall, took a deep breath and shut his eyes as he nervously stepped through it. After a taking a couple of footsteps, Littlefoot opened one eye and then the other to find himself in an identical corridor to that of the previous except for the bright, gleaming lights that were fully functional. To his immediate right, Petrie sat on the step wearing a spiteful looking mien, eagerly awaiting Cera to appear.

"It's okay guys! You can come through. Nothing bad happens!" Littlefoot reported. On hearing his verification that it was safe, the rest of the gang emerged one-by-one from the fake structure as it rippled and folded as they passed through it. Once all safely on the other side, Petrie instantly dive-bombed onto Cera's nose horn and began bickering with her causing the others to laugh wildly. However, their laughter was cut dramatically short when a strong breeze blew down the stairwell and whistled piercingly around their ears. With one final glance at each other, the gang pressed on up the staircase which, to their great relief, was actually enabling them to progress up to the bright doorway at the top.

            It didn't take the gang long to reach the top of the staircase and into the executive area of the building. The room was decorated in colours of royalty with red carpet and golden-laced patterns elegantly scrawled across the walls. On the far side, an emblem of the company was mounted as a massive, beautifully crafted medallion positioned over a large stone archway sealed with thick oak doors. Between them and the door they had to get to were numerous desks and office appliances enclosed in cubicles turning the room into a miniature maze which was especially confusing for the five, young dinosaurs as they stepped nervously onto the warm, red carpet that cushioned the balls of their feet and felt much more comforting than the hard, marble floors of the halls and stairs.

"Is this the right way?" Ducky asked eyeing the glowing walls of flaming red.

"I…I guess so. This is the way Jill mentioned I think," Littlefoot said hesitantly.

"It definitely looks much nicer than the white places back down there. Could this be where Westwood is hiding?" Cera followed up examining the area.

"Me no know. So what we do?" Petrie said impassively.

"Keep going until we find him I suppose," Littlefoot suggested.

"Well, we're all right behind you," Cera said sarcastically.

"Oh gee…thanks," Littlefoot replied rolling his eyes. Taking Cera up on her word, Littlefoot led the way into the thicket of cubicles but they didn't get far when they were all forced to stop suddenly. A strange, whistling wind was blowing in between the cubicles and the more they listened to it, the more distinct it became.

"Where that wind coming from?" Petrie squawked alarmed as it sailed passed them.

"Dunno but it sounds…it sounds almost like music…" Littlefoot said pricking his ears up and listening to the breeze. As he described, the rushing air appeared to be whistling a peculiar melody. A melody that all of them recognised the more they heard of it.

"That song…it sounds like Jason's song he played on his musical stick," Ducky said airily as the tune shrilled on the wind.

"Yeah, so it does," Cera agreed.

"But how could Jason's song be playing here? Could Westwood be close by?" Littlefoot asked searching for some means of a source to the music. No one answered him as the music was soon overpowering the wind as it rang out over the entire area. Snapping out of the slight trance they were locked in, the gang continued to move through the cubicles. Ducky sat atop Spike and started humming the tune merrily.

"Ducky! This is no time to be singing songs! We're in the middle of something very important!" Cera scorned looking at her with a tight, angry face.

"I am sorry Cera but I just like this music so very, very much. It makes me feel happy," she replied now rocking back and forth in time to the melody. Just as the song started over again, the gang heard something approaching them as they moved through a fourth cubicle.

"What's that coming?" Littlefoot breathed hastily freezing on the spot.

"It sound like footsteps," Petrie announced.

"Who could it be? Mr. Westwood? Jill or Mr. Stone?" Ducky inquired shaking a little.

            Frozen in the centre of office cubicle, the gang stood awaiting who, or whatever, it was to show itself. To their surprise, as the footsteps grew louder with its approach, the music also became louder. Standing their ground, they looked on anxiously as a figure emerged in the exit doorway. The gang were speechless at the sight of the figure as it had been someone who they would have never expected to see.

"I don't believe it! It's…it's…" Cera stammered.

"It is Jason!" Ducky said finishing Cera's sentence.

"Jason?! Is that really you? How did you get here?" Littlefoot asked softly with his mouth hanging open in astonishment. Jason was standing with his piccolo in one hand and was staring at them with a huge smile on his face. He appeared to be so cheerful and full of energy despite his untimely death back in the dinosaur era and out of all the things they expected to see in this future, alien world none of them were prepared to witness Jason resurrected and wandering in front of their eyes. Littlefoot took an unsteady step towards him and after a little apprehensive pause, the others followed him up. Eager to get face to face with him, Littlefoot's footfall quickened and as the distance between them shortened, he was shocked to see Jason's bright expression instantly die. Littlefoot stopped at his sudden drop in mood and tried to examine him but Jason turned away breaking eye contact.

"Jason? Jason what's wrong?" Littlefoot asked slowly but he didn't answer.

"What's wrong with you Jason? Why don't you say something?" Cera snapped as she pulled up level with Littlefoot but his reaction did not change. He remained looking at the ground with a crushing, downfallen mien.

"What is the matter Jason? Are you sad?" Ducky asked him but again he didn't say a word. The gang looked at each other utterly perplexed. They couldn't understand why Jason was refusing to talk to them. They all moved closer towards him but they were amazed to find Jason backing away from them.

"Huh? Jason! What's the matter? It's like you don't remember us at all!" Littlefoot said very hurt to seem him react in such a way.

"Jason? You know me! It Petrie," he announced taking flight to approach him but Jason flinched as he came closer. Petrie hovered in mid-air as he read Jason's terrified expression as he cowered behind his piccolo unable to face them.

"Why is he acting so weird?" Cera whispered to Littlefoot. He shrugged and quickly returned his focus to Jason as he began to unravel from his defensive ball. A hurtful twinge soared through his mind and made his senses burn a fierce flare indicating something was out of place. Slowly, he took a few backwards.

"Guys…back away from him…" he said tugging on Spike's tail.

"What? Why?" Cera asked abruptly but followed anyway.

"Just do it…something is telling me that is something different about Jason," he continued with his mind still buzzing with thoughts.

"Oh yes, yes, yes. There is definitely something different about Jason. He does not seem like the same Jason we knowed back in the Great Valley. No, no, no…" Ducky mumbled a little distraught.

"Just keep going back. He should stand up if we get far enough," Littlefoot murmured softly. To their surprise, just as Littlefoot had predicted, once they were back to where they were when they first saw Jason, he stood up and readjusted his focus on them. With one final step back to their starting positions, the wide, warm, friendly smile had returned to his face.

"What the…? It's like he's scared of us!" Cera exclaimed. She turned to Littlefoot but he seemed distracted by something. His face was twisted with a mixture of fear and mystification.

"What is it?" she asked him cautiously but he didn't answer her. She knocked him in the side to grab his attention, "Hey! Don't you ignore me as well! What's up with you?"

"This…something is telling me that…this isn't the Jason we used to know…" Littlefoot said darkly.

"This…isn't the same Jason? But who else could it be? He's standing right there in front of you!" Cera argued. She then heard Spike whimper to her left.

"You can tell as well, can't you Spike…" Littlefoot said across the lateral line. Spike looked at him nodding with a painful expression.

"Me feel it too…" Petrie said shivering fearfully.

"I can too," Ducky said looking at Jason standing in their path unmoving and still wearing his heart-warming smile, "it is like there is nothing there at all, even though I can see him…"

"I have no idea what you guys are going on about but you're all saying that this human is not who we think it is?" Cera asked trying to piece everything together.

            The five of them suddenly flinched as they saw Jason shuffling out of the corner of their eyes. Jason had placed his piccolo he was holding to his lips and he began playing his melody he always played. The gang watched him in wonder as the sweet sounding tune spun around them making them feel light and bubbly inside. Littlefoot gasped as he saw Jason suddenly take off down the neighbouring aisle and out of sight.

"Jason, wait!" Littlefoot shouted after him and quickly followed him around the corner.

"Littlefoot!" Cera called sprinting after him immediately pursued by Spike, Ducky and Petrie. Littlefoot tore around the corner creasing up the carpet as he smashed into a cubicle wall. Stabilizing himself, Littlefoot skidded to a halt having lost Jason's trail.

"Littlefoot! Don't run off like that! Do you wanna get lost in here by yourself?!" Cera scolded as she pulled up behind him but he wasn't paying much attention to her. He was busy searching the area for any sign of Jason.

"Where'd he go?" he breathed urgently.

"Who? Jason? I thought you said it wasn't him. Why are you looking for him?" Cera said indignantly.

"Even though it didn't seem like Jason, there was something about him that…" Littlefoot started but he was interrupted by Spike hopping up and down ecstatically.

"There Jason!" Petrie exclaimed pointing to him running through another cubicle. Having re-located him, they all charged to where Petrie had spotted him. Still with his music playing, the gang stopped to find Jason had disappeared again.

"Where is he now?" Littlefoot shouted slightly out of breath.

"There he is!" Cera called pointing in one direction.

"No, he is over there!" Ducky said pointing in another direction.

"Look! Jason over there!" Petrie squawked signalling in another place.

"What's going on? How can he be in more than one place at the same time?" Littlefoot asked whipping his head around to all three directions.

"Is this kid real? He doesn't seem real!" Cera said watching a blur shoot past them again.

"That's what I'm saying Cera! Maybe he's like that strange wall back on those rock steps," Littlefoot said.

"So why are we chasing him around in circles?" she barked becoming annoyed.

"Maybe he will take us to Westwood and that human Jill always calls the Red Phoenix. You know…Jason's mother," Littlefoot said still searching the place for Jason's whereabouts.

"But how do we catch him?" Ducky asked inquisitively.

"Me got idea. Me think we should split up and look for him," Petrie advised taking to the air.

Taking him up on his suggestion, the gang separated into three groups and set off to track Jason down. Littlefoot set out on his own as he watched Cera and Petrie go one way and Ducky and Spike go the other. Despite him being on his own, he didn't feel afraid because he was hunting someone that he knew even though something was constantly eating away at him, telling him it may not even be the real thing. It only took Littlefoot a matter of seconds to find Jason, playing his instrument, in the corner of another cubicle. He hadn't seemed to have noticed Littlefoot standing in the doorway as he remained seated and continued to perform his song. Trying hard to ignore the haunting melody, Littlefoot crawled up to a reasonable pouncing position right behind him as he sat unmoving on the carpet. Poised to attack, Littlefoot leapt upon Jason but he had taken off like a shot forcing Littlefoot to crash into the desk uncontrollably. Determined not to lose him again, Littlefoot scrambled to his four feet and gave chase. Weaving in and out of the cubicles and aisles, Littlefoot stayed on Jason's trail as he heard the others shouting from opposite ends.

"Guys! I found him!" Littlefoot called to them but quickly reverted his eyes to Jason who had nearly given him the slip again. Not too far from him, Littlefoot could hear the pounding footsteps of his friends heading towards him. Approaching each other at a crossroad, Littlefoot looked up and gasped to see the others both chasing Jason clone of their own. At the centre of the crossroad, all three versions of Jason merged into one and disappeared. As the now single copy of Jason shot out of view, the gang squealed as they all looked up and saw each other heading straight for one another. Digging their heels as deep into the carpet as possible, the three groups slid frenziedly directly into each other and ended up as a crumpled mass of bodies on the ground.

"Uurrgghhh! What happened?" Cera gurgled kicking Spike off her and rolling onto all fours.

"We had him," Ducky said as she climbed out from between Littlefoot and Spike's knotted tails.

"No, I had him," Littlefoot said unravelling himself from Spike.

"What are you talking about? Me and Petrie had him cornered before you guys came in!" Cera announced irritably.

"Wait a second! How could we all be chasing Jason if we were at different ends?" Littlefoot then realised as Spike uncoiled his tail from the little brontosaurus's.

"Could there be more than one of him?" Ducky asked innocently. Before anyone could answer her, Jason's melody was heard again but this time, it was coming from a specific place.

"Listen…Jason's song…" Petrie said airily listening to the unnatural wind that was blowing around them again.

"It is coming from over there," Ducky said pointing to the large archway with the phoenix medallion hanging at its peak. Cautiously, the gang trudged over to where the music was emanating from and were shocked to discover Jason standing at the base of the solid wooden doors. As they came to a standstill a few feet away from him, Jason stopped playing his song and lowered the piccolo from his mouth to look at them and for the first time since his arrival, he spoke in a peculiar voice which none of them recognised.

"You are all indeed brave to have ventured this far into the lair of the phoenix. You have escaped and survived many hardships and triumphed over adversities that many have fallen victim to. However, you're greatest challenge lies ahead of you where you will require much more than physical strength and mere luck to surpass. You have crossed the line of no return and as the door of fate opens…you must enter and face you're greatest fears…"

            The gang looked at each other unable to speak a word. They simply looked on as Jason fell silent. They were all shocked to see his eyes glowing an electric yellow as he raised his piccolo up to the medallion hovering above him. Gasping in astonishment, the gang watched as a hollow, white spiral encircled Jason's body and forced a raging wind to erupt over the area. Anchoring their heels into the ground as hard as they could, all five of them watched through shielded eyes as the white vortex grew brighter, illuminating the entire executive suite. The roaring winds picked up speed as a beam of light passed from the energy engulfing Jason's body up to the golden medallion that began to glow. With a crack, the light slowly died and the gang refocused their eyes to where Jason was standing but to their amazement, he had completely disappeared from sight.

"What is going on?" Cera yelled above the slowly silencing wind that rushed passed her ears.

"Jason gone again!" Petrie whined.

"Look up there? That golden flyer is staring at us!" Ducky said pointing up to the phoenix medallion. Heads tilting upwards, everyone watched as the gold symbol, which had been struck by the wave of white energy, was glowing. The eyes of the bird immersed in the loops of metallic fire were blinking slowly with a dangerous shade of red. Jumping at the sound of a click, the gang lowered their gaze to the large oak doors that were creaking and gradually swinging inwards to reveal a long, carpeted hall decorated with marvellous marble statuettes and priceless paintings. A thick mist flowed around their ankles as they stood hesitantly at the entrance. Suddenly, the great booming voice that seemed to possess Jason's ghostly figure bellowed over them one last time.

"Enter and discover where you're path of destiny leads…" With all the supernatural events going on around them, none of them knew what to trust.

"We're not seriously going in there are we?" Cera blurted out anxiously.

"I guess we have to Cera," Littlefoot replied still finding it hard to budge his shaking legs that seemed firmly cemented on the spot.

"Me no like the looks of this," Petrie hummed warningly as he sat next to Ducky on top of Spike.

"Me neither Petrie," Ducky agreed hugging him close.

"Well, I'm not going in there! Nothing in the world could make me walk down that creepy tunnel," Cera snorted. No sooner had she said that, there was a deafening crash from behind them. Whirling around, the gang gasped in horror to see the room behind them disintegrating and behind sucked into a bizarre, swirling purple vortex.

"What that!" Petrie cried in terror as the destruction ripped through the cubicles and gradually made its way over to them.

"Quick! Let's go! Will you move now Cera?!" Littlefoot called over the howling wind but Cera didn't answer him, "Cera?! Cera! Where'd you…" Littlefoot looked around to find Cera already sprinting down the hall. She slid to a stop and turned to face them.

"What are you doing standing there?! C'mon! Get moving! Do you want that purple thing to swallow you up?" Cera screamed down the dark corridor. The rest of the group blinked in amazement at the immensely impressive distance she had managed to cover in such a short space of time. The room gave a terrible shake as they stood there admiring Cera incredible speed and they quickly followed her example as they charged through the colossal oak doors. Once they were all shooed inside, the doors slammed shut behind them but unknown to them, the decaying room they had fled had miraculously returned to normal and the whirling vortex had completely vanished from view as if it never existed to begin with.


	19. Part 17: The Guardian's Test

Chapter 60: A Friend for a Friend 

The dark corridor whistled with a chilling wind that rattled the giant, archway windows. Monstrous, black clouds rumbled with thunder as they swarmed and merged into one another covering the glowing skyline of a dangerous red. Littlefoot strolled nervously down the carpeted hall alongside his quivering friends that stood so close to each other they were almost tripping over each other's feet. Still shaken from their escape from the bizarre, purple whirlwind in the previous room, they were all apprehensively to advance but with no turning back, they had no choice but to continue towards the large, oak, double doors that stood at the opposite end. Littlefoot could feel something welling up inside again but this time it was much stronger than before. Seeing some form of a representation of Jason walking in front of his eyes stirred something that fed the fear spreading through him. It made him feel sick and dizzy to think that the human boy he had honoured and respected as a true friend had been standing before him but he could sense no spirit within the empty shell. Was it really Jason he saw?

"Littlefoot? Littlefoot are you all right?" Ducky asked watching him. Snapping out of his daze, Littlefoot turned and looked at her before nodding slowly.

"What you think this all about? What you think Jason talking about?" Petrie asked.

"I don't have a clue," Cera said dismissively eyeing the dark walls as their faint shadows crawled over them like twisted, demonic creatures.

"Beats me, but I don't think that really was Jason back there…there was something about him that just didn't seem right," Littlefoot said very weakly.

"Oh no, no, no. It did not seem like that was Jason at all! And his voice was loud and scary too; not like his normal voice," Ducky agreed as Spike nodded too.

"Just what is going on in this creepy place?" Cera shouted. Just as she finished yelling, the hall flashed a blinding white light. The gang, completely startled, all screamed and sprinted to the doors ahead of them.

"What was that?!" Cera squeaked as they all skidded to a halt just inches from the door. Whirling around, everyone looked to the window as the great booming of a thunderclap shook and trembled over the city.

"You guys! It was only a sky flash," Littlefoot said trying to control his trembling legs.

"But it so loud! Bigger than when Cera's dad shout!" Petrie exclaimed as he unravelled himself from one of the door handle that he clung to as Spike threw him off his back in his sudden stop. As the gang recomposed themselves, they heard a great click from behind them. Having not fully recovered from their last fright, all five of them sprung from their positions and turned to face the gigantic wooden doors. As if by magic, the doors slowly opened towards them and a seeping mist flowed from out of the widening crack in between the double doors. The gang stood poised yet jittery at the base of them as they swung open and came to a stop at the end of their hinges. None of them moved as they saw more of the mysterious fog roll out of the black doorway that led into a void that looked as if no living being could possibly survive. A fierce wind was picking up and roared past their ears as the mist began to swirl around them engulfing them from their feet upwards. Cera shrieked as she felt something cold and clammy wrapping around her ankles.

"What the!!! Hey! I can't move!" she wailed.

"I am frozen stiff!!!" Ducky squeaked. Her muscles felt like lead weights as she sat paralysed atop Spike who was straining and struggling to move his body.

"Me stuck!" Petrie complained as he flopped onto Littlefoot's head like his wings had been tied to him with invisible ropes.

"What's…going…on?!" Littlefoot strained as speak against the restricting magical force locking his body in place. Unable to budge, they all looked on in terror as the strange mist encircled them and spun around up over their heads trapping them in the eye of a vortex. The gang screamed in fear as their bodies were lifted off the ground and thrown around inside the whirlwind so fast they could feel their consciousnesses slipping away. Littlefoot struggled to breathe as the rushing air around him seemed to escape his lungs. His world began growing whiter and whiter as his slowly felt his perception leaving him. Before long, every single one of them passed out from the magnitude of the forces imposed upon them. The whirlwind continued to spin their lifeless bodies around and around as the entire area seemed to disintegrate and crumble out of existence leaving nothing in its wake. As quickly as the destructive wind had arrived, it disappeared from sight as did the five young dinosaurs.

A few moments passed before Littlefoot felt his consciousness slowly returning to his aching joints. He groaned and whimpered as he lay on a strangely familiar surface. It was soft, cool and constantly moving under his nose on a light breeze. The air brushed over his face as he gently opened his eyes and his senses returned. Raising his head and shaking it a little, Littlefoot looked around at his surroundings and his jaw dropped as he took in every square inch of the land. Just then, he felt his tail knock something very close by. Jumping a bit, he quickly realised that Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike were still lying on the ground next to him; all out cold.

"Hey…hey you guys! C'mon, get up!" he pleaded to them standing upright. He unsteadily turned around and nudged Cera's neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her grumble and stir.

"Urrrghhh…ahhhh…huh? Where…where am I?" Cera gurgled lifting her head to see Littlefoot beaming down on her, "L-Littlefoot? What happened?"

"I don't know but I'm glad you're okay," he replied helping her to her feet. Not long after Cera's awakening, Ducky, Spike and Petrie began to come around and slowly pulled themselves up to standing.

"Good to see everyone's okay," Littlefoot smiled watching Petrie shake his head so hard he nearly fell over.

"Where exactly are we?" Ducky asked scanning the landscape with the same gob-smacked expression as Littlefoot had before.

"It…it look like……home…" Petrie said awestruck.

"Did that weird whirling-wind send us back to the Great Valley?" Cera gasped.

"Maybe but…where is everyone? There's no one around," Littlefoot said looking left and right for any signs of anyone but the entire area was, indeed, baron and completely deserted.

"This spooky…if we back in Great Valley, why no one here?" Petrie asked quivering behind Cera's neckshield.

"You do not think that that nasty human and Jason's mother came here and…" Ducky gulped unable to finish he sentence. Everyone gave each other a nervous glance without saying a word. Could everybody who lived in their homeland…their family and other friends…be gone? Just then, they all saw something over by a river sheltered by a large tree.

"Look! Who's that standing over there?" Littlefoot said nodding in the figure's direction.

"Don't know. Maybe he knows what happened," Cera said starting for the creature with the others close behind.

The gang stopped a few metres from the creature that stood, leaning up against the overshadowing tree, gazing out over the water as it flowed calmly past.

"Wait a minute. That look just like…" Petrie began.

"Jason! It is Jason standing there!" Ducky exclaimed.

"Yeah it is Jason!" Littlefoot said happily but he quickly felt his stomach drop, "But…it can't be. Jason's…dead... That Jason back in the human world was not real so this one can't be real either."

"Littlefoot, you sure? He looks more real than the last one," Ducky said eyeing him as he stood with his back to them still looking out over the water.

"So what then?" Cera asked getting impatient but she was shocked to hear the human speak to them finally.

"Hasty as always Cera. Constantly charging head first into a situation with thinking about it."

"Jason? Is that really you?" Littlefoot squeaked in surprise recognising the voice immediately.

"Existence is meaningless without a purpose. We are all here for one reason or another and hence, has given way to the most perplexing question to riddle the minds of every intelligent life-form to ever set foot upon this planet. What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? What is the purpose of us existing on this tiny speck spinning within the infinite darkness that is the universe? Many have tried to find answer to this riddle yet no one has emerged with even a glimmer of a solution." The gang looked at each other dumbfounded at Jason's words.

"Jason, what are you talking about?" Cera snapped indignantly taking a step forwards.

"Yeah. You no make any sense," Petrie said clasping onto Cera's neckshield a little tighter as she approached the boy. Jason was still standing, leant up against the tree and refused to turn and look at them.

"Every system that exists is allowed to survive as long as it is in an equal balance where its opposing forces are controlled. This balance is extremely fragile and even the slightest upset can throw that perfect equilibrium into chaos and ruin and once that happens, that system will then wither away. One power must not gain dominance over the other for too long otherwise that power's lack of strength will ultimately lead to its own destruction and all under it's reign will perish. But, if the weaker force can fight back and restore its share in the equilibrium, then that system will live on. This is the way life on the Earth can possibly remain in balance; as plants and animals are born, others die in order to make way for the new arrivals and over time, more and more systems can come into play and so fill the world with many varieties and species of flora and fauna. The world as we know it. But, there is one thing, one system that cannot be controlled. One system that has only one variable and nothing else."

"And what is that?" Littlefoot asked. By now, they had all crept forwards and were standing right behind Jason awaiting his answer.

"Time... It has no boundaries yet it exists like every other living thing. We know it's there because we all develop and grow and change with its tide. We are powerless against it because to deny the passage of time and its natural flow would be to deny the very purpose of being. If time did not run, how it does what it does, then nothing would have the chance to grow into what we recognise in our everyday lives. Evolution and the ability to become more sophisticated creatures would be denied forcing everything to a standstill." The gang remained silent as they watch Jason finally shift from his static position and moved towards the river.

"Take a look at this magnificent place. A wondrous beauty of a landscape that has developed thanks to time's flow. Time is like the river; its flows as a current changing the land as it passes. It can only flow in one direction but the marvellous thing about it all is that, even though you can see the same stretch of water running in front of you, it is impossible to step into the same river twice. It is always flowing…always changing…always a new form spawned from its former self. The passage of time follows exactly the same principle. As if flows, it changes day to night and then, as it continues its course, a new day emerges from the previous just past.

To you dinosaurs, one day feeds into the next and that is all you see whereas our kind can do the very thing that nature cannot define; the reversal of time's flow. With ingenious creations such as these, it is true to say that…nothing is impossible."

"Jason! What are you saying?" Littlefoot stammered perplexed.

"Yeah. By the way you are speaking, it's almost as if you are on Westwood's side," Cera grunted but she gasped as she watched Jason take a step towards the river. Jaws nearly hit the grass as they looked on to see Jason walking on the water without breaking its surface. Every footstep made the water ripple like a stone dropping into the coursing river but his trainers never penetrated the surface. The gang ran to the water's edge as it lapped the riverbank and rolled over their feet. They looked up at Jason to see him smiling with his arms folded across his chest.

"Humans have the ability to reach far greater heights than any other creature on the face of the Earth. Their supreme intellect and unmatched skill in the development of modern technology has enable them to gain the power to govern all living things yet, it is them who need a figure to rule over them," Jason said with an evil twinkle in his eye and a sinister smirk to match that locked Littlefoot and his friends in a tongue-tied silence.

Suddenly, the gang gasped as they watched Jason's body appeared to be vaporizing. He grew fainter and fainter until he was magically replaced with another figure who stood in a business suit with the Red Phoenix logo sewn into the breast pocket. He stood exactly in Jason's stance and position as if a magic cloak had been lifted to reveal him underneath.

"JASON!!!" Littlefoot cried as Jason disintegrated from view.

"Don't waste your breath. You're voice can no longer reach him where he is," Westwood drooled running his skinny fingers through his oily, black hair.

"You again!!!" Cera yelled standing ready to pounce.

"I must admire you're outstanding courage for leading yourselves into my clutches, although there is a very thin line between bravery…and stupidity. Foolish to think that you all wandering here thinking that I can be beaten by mere children of an extinct era," he continued. His smirk failed to fade.

"Hey! Watch it you! I don't have to understand what you said to realise that that was an insult!" Cera snorted pawing the ground. Westwood laughed and shook his head.

"Pitiful. You really don't have a clue at the sheer magnitude and pure power that I can conjure up from my amazing machines! But, sadly, even I cannot create something that is true flawless. Thankfully, I have discovered a new source of energy to make my creations perfect."

"You mean the stones. The Stones of Essence," Littlefoot said boldly.

"Precisely. As I said, humans are the only species to never have a ruler over them. But with my machines and the magic encased in those three stones in their perfect form, I can and will control all. Humans…the heavens and the Earth…and every single living creature under the sun. All mine to rule as a god; immortal with the magic of the stones and undetectable with the ability to change the course of history as I see fit. I could save so many lives with my knowledge and understand to past eras and become a honoured hero with riches untold from every century. On the other hand, I could rule as a fiery and vicious tyrant and cause mass destruction and eliminate every single being who challenges me. I can steal and plunder countless treasures from across the ages and fight entire wars with just me! The true, one-man army! The only one in existence. History will have to dedicated that to me as the immortal that passed from one era to the next with no death date because I would have disappeared from one timeline and reappear somewhere else. I'll become a new wonder of the world. I can picture it all now!"

"You're insane! No one can do all that!" Cera snapped.

"You cannot do this! You will hurt so many things! Why would you want to do such a thing?" Ducky pleaded close to tears.

"Because I can my dear! No one else has done such a feat before and I will show the world the true power that the Stones of Essence have to offer," Westwood said raising one hand and snapping his fingers. Instantly, the grass meadow they stood in evaporated from around them and they found themselves standing in an immaculate office lined with tapestries and portraits, bookcases, a desk and a beautiful stained glass window that stretched from the floor right up to the ceiling that was at least fifteen feet high.

"Welcome to my humble abode. The party is about to begin and I do hope you can stay," Westwood beamed bowing respectfully.

"I don't like this creep!" Cera grumbled to Littlefoot. He nodded in acknowledgement but his eyes quickly fixed on something that shifted out of the corner of his eye. Sitting on top of one of the tall bookcases with one leg looped over the other was the Red Phoenix. She waved and smiled widely as she dropped and floated gently to the ground, hardly bending her knees as the soles of her bare feet touched the thick carpet.

"So you all finally made it," she said smiling sweetly at them, "I must admit I am surprised to see you all saw through my illusions I set around the place. I'm sure many lesser beings would have driven themselves insane trying to escape from their prison without walls. I commend you on keeping such a clear head and beating them."

"So it you who make all those funny things happen. The walls on the stone steps, the dark, whirling winds, all of them," Petrie squawked peeking out over Cera's head.

"Yes, that was me. It was interesting reading your reactions to each of the illusions you surpassed. I even laughed when you flickered your flying friend through the wall just to check if it was real. But the most intriguing reaction was when you came into contact with the one that meant the least harm to you," the Red Phoenix said slowly. Raising her right arm up and out to about shoulder height, the gang watched as human boy walked out from behind her and stood up just in front; a boy of whom they all recognised.

"…Jason…" Littlefoot whispered softly as he stared at the illusion of Jason holding his little, wooden piccolo in one hand and smiling broadly.

"That's right Littlefoot. He too was merely a figment of your imagination created by petty magic tricks to fool the eye. Strange though, despite his calm nature, I felt something unstable within this one when he came face-to-face with you lot in the back offices," the Red Phoenix said waving a hand over the fictitious Jason's head causing him to burst into flames and then disappear on a gust of wind. The gang flinched awkwardly watching, even a surreal version of the real thing, erupt into flames and fade away.

"What did you mean when you said you felt something strange within him," Littlefoot asked croakily.

"I'm not sure. I could tell you sensed something unnatural about him but something seemed to disturb my connection to it as you got closer," she admitted.

"Is that way you made him run away?" Ducky asked naively.

"Perhaps. Either way he did prove useful in bringing you all here for the little gathering we've set up for you," the Red Phoenix said with a much more malicious tone. The gang felt very uncomfortable as they read the evil glare on her face.

"W-www…what 'gathering'?" Petrie asked nervously. Not saying a word, the Red Phoenix turned and looked at Westwood as he turned to look at her at the same time.

"I regret to inform you all that you are all still viewing a very small section of another illusion," Westwood said cupping his hands together and strolling in front of the massive desk set in front of them.

"What do you mean? None of this is real either?" Littlefoot asked watching both humans very carefully.

"Oh no, this is all very much real child. All except for one little section of wall, just here," the Red Phoenix said pointing up to a large blank space above the desk, in between two of the mountainous bookcases.

"What's so special about that space?" Cera barked bluntly.

"In case you haven't already noticed, all our offices contain some means of our company's logo. The phoenix rising up out of the flames it was born from. They either have pictures, medallions, statuettes or paintings of it but our room does not," Westwood announced.

"So what? Maybe it fell down a broke or something stupid. Probably fell on your head and made you insane!" Cera chanted with a childish grin. Westwood's smirk tightened into an expression of utmost anger. With a clenched fist, he threw his hand up to the blank spot on the wall.

"This will wipe that pathetic look off your face!" he snapped as he nodded over to the Red Phoenix. Acknowledging, she lifted her nearest hand to the blank space on the wall and, before their eyes, a giant, gold medallion of the company logo slowly appeared. The metallic structure was easily fifteen feet in diameter and it filled the entire empty hollow that was in place a few seconds ago. Once it was full in view, the gang looked at Westwood who was smiling again.

"And…? That was it? You were babbling on to show us that stupid shiny thing we've seen countless times already?! Gimme a break!" Cera grunted indignantly rolling her eyes.

"I suggest you look a little closer you prehistoric pest! You should have figured out by now that nothing in this world is as it seems," Westwood said dryly. Glancing back up at the medallion, they gasped as they saw two bodies hanging unconscious on it with shackles around their hands and feet.

"Jill! Mr. Stone!" Ducky cried horrified.

"What have you done to them?!" Cera snapped angrily.

"Nothing. They simply ran into a little ambush we had waiting for them. I can assure you that there are much more frightening things crawling around this building than just zombified workers and clients," Westwood drooled.

"They aren't……dead….are they?" Petrie asked as he heard Spike whimper to his left.

"They are perfectly fine. What they fought and destroyed had an emergency defence system which is triggered upon the creature's central nervous system shutting down. It emits a poisonous gas that can knock out a human for anything up to three hours in small dosages and kill in large," Westwood hissed.

"But are they…" Ducky began but Littlefoot interrupted her.

"No! They are alive! Look! They are moving!" he beckoned gazing up at them. All of them breathed a sigh of relief as the two of them began to come around.

"Jill! Mr. Stone! Down here!" Ducky called up to them in unison with Spike's yelps.

"Uurrrgghhh…Ooooohhh…Ducky? Is that you?!" Jill mumbled as her eyesight came back into focus.

"They okay!" Petrie chirped overjoyed.

"Shut it you brats! They will not be so interactive in a short while if you don't do as we request!" Westwood spat disgusted with the happy cheers coming from the dinosaur children.

"What do you want?" Littlefoot asked but he felt his heart instantly leap into his throat as he saw the Red Phoenix pointing directly at him wearing a twisted smile.

"Just you honey. You are all we need right now," she said airily waving her finger around in circles in front of his face. Littlefoot took a step backwards unable to say a word.

"What do you want with Littlefoot?" Ducky asked nervously.

"He is one of the protectors of the stone which holds the power of tears and raw emotion. The Stone of Essence known as the Guardian's Tear Sapphire found its way to him and it is only his life force that can purify its energy and make the second triangle of the Heaven's Eternity Crystal complete," the Red Phoenix explained failing to drop her smile.

"No Littlefoot! Don't do it! Don't let her get to you!" Sergeant Stone bellowed down on him but he flinched as a beam of light struck him across the face.

"Silence!" the Red Phoenix growled lowering her hand from Stone's direction.

"Now Littlefoot. You are to surrender yourself you us immediately," Westwood said taking a step towards him, "Don't make us have to do this by force."

"If you give yourself up Littlefoot, I promise, I will make it as painless as possible. You won't feel a thing," the Red Phoenix cooed signalling for him to come to her. Littlefoot took another step backwards.

"Littlefoot! Don't give up! Run for it!" Jill called to him but the massive, oak doors were already sealed behind them.

"Come on Littlefoot. Let's get this over with shall we?" Westwood said continuing to advance on him.

"No! Never! You'll never get me to help you!" he barked valiantly.

"Don't be a fool child! Surrender now!!!" Westwood snarled but he stopped as he saw bodies starting to cluster around the young longneck.

"Just try it! We won't let you get to Littlefoot! You'll never get close enough!" Cera growled standing ahead of him shielding Littlefoot from Westwood.

"You no gonna hurt Littlefoot! Not if we here!" Petrie bellowed sticking his chest out and perching high on the peak of Cera's neckshield.

"That is right! We will not let you get to Littlefoot!" Ducky snapped boldly as she and Spike stood in front of him completing the protective barrier around Littlefoot. Littlefoot felt a sense of overwhelming joy seeing his friends standing as his defence. He looked at them all in turn bewildered but delighted at their reactions.

"Right on you guys! Stand together and fight as one!" Jill shouted to them feeling very proud.

Standing their ground, Westwood could only look on helplessly at Littlefoot's defences. Slowly, he backed up and returned to his position in front of the oversized desk at the top of the room.

"Courageous little troopers aren't you?" Westwood said flatly, "Admirable but meaningless. Littlefoot…you will submit to me. Because I am sure you are not willing to sacrifice the lives of your friends now are you?" Littlefoot felt an icy chill shoot down his spine making his body shudder at Westwood's words. Before he could speak, Westwood signalled to the Red Phoenix who slowly raised her hand to where Jill and Stone were left dangling.

"NO!" Littlefoot shouted.

"Give up kid! Or I'll give the order for my lovely accomplice to terminate your human friends!" Westwood demanded. Everyone looked at each other worried as they watched Jill and Stone struggling with their shackles.

"What do we do?!" Ducky squeaked panic-stricken.

"Don't listen to him kids! It doesn't matter about us!" Stone shouted to them, "You must not surrender to…" Stone was cut short as a black sphere struck him in the stomach. The impact forced him to lurch up and then fall limply in his shackles.

"Mr. Stone!!!" Littlefoot screamed.

"That was a warning shot Littlefoot. He is not dead but he will be if I hit him again!" the Red Phoenix warned as her hand drifted over to Jill, "I mean it Littlefoot! I will kill them both!"

"No! Y-you can't!" Cera stammered. Suddenly, Littlefoot's mind clicked at her cry.

"No…that's right! No, you can't kill them!" Littlefoot then said triumphantly. Everyone turned to him as if he were mad.

"What are you gibbering about?!" Westwood barked agitated.

"You can't kill them. Not Jill anyway! You already know that she is the last one you need for you plan to work! If you kill her, then you will never succeed!" Littlefoot blurted out.

"That right!" Petrie cawed happily.

"Very well, I will kill the other one then!" the Red Phoenix threatened starting to move her hand over towards the sergeant.

"Oh no you won't!" Jill snapped back, "If you harm Daniel…I'll kill myself in these shackles!"

"WHAT!!!" the gang all cried in shock. They couldn't believe what they had just heard Jill say.

"You'll what?!" Westwood said chuckling.

"I mean it! I'll slit my wrists on these rusted shackles. If not, I'll snap my own neck in between the metal bars of your precious phoenix medallion!" Jill warned glaring at the two of them.

"Get real! You're bluffing! You'll never do it! You don't have the guts to!" Westwood said smirking confidently.

"Try it! I dare you! I'd gladly commit suicide if it is to ruin your fiendish plans! Wanna test your luck?" Jill edged as she began weaving her head awkwardly between the curved bars of the emblem.

"No! Don't!" Westwood yelled to her. Similarly, the gang all leapt forward pleading with Jill to stop.

"Still think I ain't got the guts, scumbag?!" Jill egged on starting to twist her neck at a dangerous angle.

"Alright…alright…stop," Westwood sighed in defeat. Jill slowly untangled her head and watched as everyone, including Littlefoot and his friends, breathed a sigh of great relief. Just as Jill pulled her head out from the medallion, they all turned to Westwood who was laughing and was getting increasingly louder.

"And just what do you find so funny? We just told you you can't have Littlefoot or Jill but you're standing their laughing your head off," Cera said in a mixture of puzzlement and anger.

"I never would have thought I could be played by such infidels like you but it is true that nothing in this world can be predicted," Westwood said slightly out of breath from laughing so hard, "You have shocked me by your consistent ability to pause my plans momentarily but as always, I have found flaws in your arguments."

"What are you getting at pencil-pusher!" Jill snarled.

"You, for one lieutenant, I am astounded to see that you are willing to give your life to save those around you. A noble sacrifice indeed but a futile effort because young Littlefoot will relinquish his life force to release the remaining, dormant power that sleeps within his stone."

"You obviously don't hear very well! We said you are NOT getting to Littlefoot!" Cera retorted standing firmly in her place.

"My dear sweet triceratops; you have it the wrong way around. Littlefoot is the one who will be coming to me rather than me going to him," he said darkly.

"What you mean by that?" Petrie asked cautiously. Westwood ran his fingers through his hair and flicked his head in the direction of the Red Phoenix who had subtly shifted from her position and was lurking in the shadows of one of the bookcases.

"Fortunately, my beautiful assistant promptly reminded me of an ace I've had up my sleeve and completely forgot about. Thank you my dear for that little mental boost there."

The Red Phoenix smiled sheepishly and strolled into the centre of the room dragging something behind her psychically. The gang tried to look at what she had behind her back but she was blocking it completely but from the sound of it being pulled across the carpet, it sounded heavy and bulky.

"What's that?" Ducky asked eyeing the black object.

"That, my dear, is my bargaining chip in getting what I want," Westwood replied with another sinister grin. He waved to the Red Phoenix for her to step out of the way and as she did, they were surprised to see the blacken object was moving slightly. Still unsure of what it was, Littlefoot and the others slowly crept forward so the light coming from the huge, stained glass window could fall on it. They gasped in horror once they discovered what it was.

"ALI!!!" Littlefoot cried. Ali was tied up and gagged squealing and writhing on the floor.

"What did you do to her?" Ducky yelped terrified.

"Nothing too serious. She wandered off, we found her and kept her company whilst you lot were off gallivanting elsewhere. And you call yourselves pals," Westwood tutted and shaking his head.

"Westwood! You bastard! How dare you kidnap that poor child!" Jill spat lividly as he battled with her shackles.

"Kidnap?! Dear God no lieutenant! I didn't kidnap her! I merely took her in and ensured she was taken care of. The only reason she's in these little bracelets is because she refused to co-operate with us; so, we had to make her see things our way," Westwood babbled in a very professional tone folding his arms.

"Let her go!" Cera shouted about to charge but she stopped as she saw the Red Phoenix's hand hovering over Ali's head threateningly.

"I wouldn't be so hasty Cera. Such actions could result in unnecessary end of life," she said calmly. Cera shuffled back in her place grumbling.

Westwood began pacing up and down in front of his desk, staring at the ground just beyond his feet.

"Well now my friends. It appears we have a situation on our hands. You have something I want and I have something you desire. I suggest a trade. A friend for a friend. If Littlefoot agrees to fulfil my wishes and purify his spiritual Stone of Essence, I will release you longnecked companion here. Refuse and…well…I think you can see how this works."

"Dammit! This is blackmail! How can you ask him to do such a thing you cold-blooded freak!" Jill scorned continuing to wriggle in her floating prison.

"I see this as a fair deal. Or unless you'd prefer to see this girl in a less than stable form," Westwood said malevolently as he bent down and wiped a tear flowing from Ali's cheek. He then turn and stared Littlefoot straight in the eye.

"So what's it gonna be Littlefoot? I'm gonna need an answer otherwise your friend will suffer for you lack of rational judgement. The decision really isn't that hard."

Littlefoot felt helpless. He stared deep into Ali large eyes that were glistening and brimming with tears as she laid on the ground unable to do anything. He would never dream of sacrificing Ali to save his own skin but he knew that giving in would mean the end of his life. His mind was racing from one decision to the next as Westwood stood tapping his foot.

"Time's a-wasting kiddo. So what's your decision?" Westwood asked awaiting his reply.

Littlefoot sighed, took a glimpse at the semi-circle of friends surrounding him who were all glaring back with fretful eyes. Unable to sustain eye contact with them, Littlefoot lowered his head and stepped out from his barrier.

"Alright Westwood…you win…" he said finally. The gang gasped at Littlefoot's response as they watched him take another step towards Westwood who was beaming down on him.

"No Littlefoot! You can't do this!" Cera argued jumping in front of him.

"Littlefoot! You cannot let him beat you! Oh, no, no, no!" Ducky whined. Spike too was whinging at his decision.

"No go Littlefoot!" Petrie pleaded but Littlefoot pushed his way through the barricade.

"Sorry guys. I just can't let them finish off Ali. I'm the one they want, not her. If she died because of me, I could never live with myself…" Littlefoot said slowly and defeated. He looked up at Jill but she remained silent as she looked at him from her perch on the wall.

"This is a very brave thing to do Littlefoot…very few are willing to forfeit with lives in order to allow another to live…even though I don't want you to take this foul trick, it is you're decision…" she then said with a rather broken voice. Littlefoot nodded and smiled sheepishly as he came to a halt at Westwood's feet.

"I'm here now…let Ali go…" Littlefoot said to the ground. He couldn't muster the courage to look Westwood in the face.

"Very well. A deal is a deal. I am a fair businessman after all," Westwood replied. Gesturing to the Red Phoenix, she snapped her fingers and the ropes that bound Ali's legs together suddenly sprung to life and slithered like snakes across the carpet and wound themselves around Littlefoot's ankles forcing him to flop to the floor. As the gag shot from Ali's mouth to his own, Littlefoot saw Ali getting to her feet and running over to him as he laid completely immobile.

"Littlefoot! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!" Ali sobbed but something struck her and she tumbled into the rest of the gang causing them to all topple over.

"I take it you enjoy torturing these innocent children, do you Westwood? Just when I thought you couldn't stoop any lower…" Jill scowled disgusted.

"All in the name of business my dear lieutenant…and in the next few minutes, the greatest business contract is about to be signed by two of my three clients. The former child, Jason…and now Littlefoot. With two essences safely contained, you will be the final one to fulfil my destiny!" Westwood cackled as he watched Littlefoot's tied body being dragged slowly across the carpet by an invisible force. As he inched, slowly towards the Red Phoenix's feet, Littlefoot silently looked up to his friends who were all stretching out as if they wanted to touch him but they remained in their positions looking on powerlessly. After a little while, he felt his shaking body come to a slow stop. Looking up, he saw the Red Phoenix gleaming down on his as he quaked with fear at his looming death. Turning his head, he laid it flat on the carpet and shut his eyes offering no signs of resistance as Westwood sniggered triumphantly.

Chapter 61: The Greater of Two Evils 

The gang looked on helplessly as Littlefoot lay pathetically at the feet of the Red Phoenix.

"A noble, young creature who treasures the most simplest of things in life. A rare class of heroism seen only in the eyes of very few, but it is such a shame that you allowed such things force you to withhold your full potential and enable you're foes to manipulate you so easily," she said smiling down on him lovingly. Littlefoot didn't move at all as the dread and fear of his looming demise drew closer with every second that past.

"Only a select few have been chosen to be the ones to hold each of the stones. Untold power and infinite wisdom buried deep within them as individuals but combined together, that power is unleashed. Even in your passing Littlefoot, I will utilize that energy stored within you and you're stone," the Red Phoenix continued but her tone was very sweet and motherly. Littlefoot could feel himself losing control as his body began to tremble and his eyes started to water. Across the way from him, he could faintly hear his friends sobbing. Even Cera, the emotionless triceratops who felt no pain, was weeping quietly knowing that if she tried to intervene, his death would become much more horrific. Unable to withstand the running of high emotions in the room, Westwood slammed an angry fist down on the desk causing a deafening bang.

"Can we hurry this along? As touching as this may appear, I have a plan of world conquest to consider and all this talking and moping isn't assisting my schedule!" Westwood growled but he was surprised to see the Red Phoenix laughing. Her cackling instantly broke the fragile atmosphere forcing every pair of eyes upon her. Nevertheless, she didn't seem to care that she had suddenly become the centre of attention.

"What's so funny Phoenix?! I find nothing remotely humorous about your stalling! Hurry it up!" Westwood argued hotly.

"All you businessmen are all the same. All you care about are your meetings, contracts and schedules. HA! Mindless morons!" the Red Phoenix sniggered averting her eyes to lock onto the director who was standing with his arms folded looking very insulted.

"What did you say?! How dare you talk so arrogantly about me! Let's not forget that I am the visionary who formulated such a marvellous innovation to change the world. You are merely the fuel for the motor!" he spat.

"You speak so lowly of such fuel Mr. Director. Unlike the substances your kind uses to run your petty machines to do your bidding, this fuel is far too volatile for any vessel to contain and much too dangerous to be simply thrown into a metal shell," the Red Phoenix replied threateningly. Westwood clenched his fists and his face shook, pursed up with anger.

"Watch your tongue witch! I was the one who decided to resurrect your lifeless body almost a decade ago using the most sophisticated technology known to mankind. It was I who gave you a second chance to walk the Earth as no lesser a being than a human. I could have easily brought you back as a bloody lab rat!"

"Oh! A thousand thank yous your royal highness! Please accept my deepest and most humble apologies for my lack of verbal control," she replied sarcastically bowing low and throwing an arm across her chest as if to sweep the ground respectfully.

As she held her position, facing the floor, the Red Phoenix heard a number of terrified gasps emanate from Ali, Cera and the others. Looking up slowly, she found her eyesight directly in line with the barrel of a handgun.

"Don't patronise me bitch, otherwise I'll have you quickly re-acquainted with this pistol! It's killed you once already and I'm sure it would be happy to kill you again!" he warned edgily. Everyone, including Littlefoot, stood utterly thunderstruck watching Westwood and his partner bickering like children in a schoolyard squabble. The Red Phoenix slowly stood upright with an expression of utmost seriousness and disgust as she watched the pistol, in the director's hand, follow her up.

"Although you murdered me in cold-blood that day seven years ago and resurrected me to toy, drug and experiment on like a plaything, my spirit lived on in the soul of my son. When I took his life and regained my spirit, my deepest, most dreaded memories of my previous life flooded back in a waterfall of raw emotions. That gun and the puny, pathetic bastard who fired it were the only visions I could see. Jason's hatred for you and this company burned even fiercer than my own and it fed my thirst to get even…" the Red Phoenix said speaking very slowly and concisely. Her eye burned into Westwood's as she took a step over Littlefoot and slowly walked towards him, "Up until now, I have played this little charade and pretended to act as your mindless puppet, obeying orders. But not anymore…"

"STOP! I mean it woman! I created you and I can destroy you just as easily!" Westwood croaked pushing the gun closer but stepping backwards as she approached.

"Yes, you created me and it was you're supervirus that reanimated my deceased body, but your fatal mistake was entrusting this great power, the greatest power in the universe, to me. I am more than a human now…I am so much more powerful than you can imagine or even hope to control…" the Red Phoenix said sternly as she continued to advance on him.

"Back off bitch! I won't tell you again!" Westwood shouted pulling the hammer of the pistol down, priming it to fire.

"You make me sick! You caused countless deaths with your virus and for what? A 'get-rich-quick' scheme? Humans are so pitiful. Too blinded by prejudice and greed to be concerned about the destruction they bring to the planet; like a plague. The Earth would be so much cleaner and healthier if none of them existed at all!"

"Wha d'ya mean by that!" Jill shouted down on them quarrelling. The Red Phoenix stopped and turned to look up at her.

"Exactly what it meant. Humans have always prayed and pleaded for 'world peace'. Unlike this piteous vermin of a being, I am going to fulfil that wish," the Red Phoenix announced coldly.

"You will? How?" Jill asked very concerned by her tone of voice.

"I will give humans their 'peace' by making the entire human race extinct! I'll wipe them off the face of the Earth!!!" she bellowed.

"WHAT!!!" all the dinosaur children wailed in horror.

"No! You can't!" Jill cried.

"Humans were not designed to bring each other joy, happiness or anything of the sort. They only bring about pain, death and misery to their own kind and every other living thing around them. They mindlessly destroy each other for nothing more than land, money and supremacy. Even after all that, the person with the biggest wallet always wins whatever is left of the wasteland that remained in their wake. World peace cannot be achieved whilst they wander around, plundering the planet of its beauties and natural wonders! There is not a hope in hell!"

"No! You're wrong! We can obtain our world peace. Humans have come a long way and have achieved many great things in their existence. Many mistakes have be made but it is our success as a race that will unite and conquer our differences. Our dream of world peace can become a reality."

"Really? You'd expect men like this pencil-pusher to be able to understand how to admire something without having to destroy it and see how much it can be sold for? No! He will never learn…humans will never learn. Besides, my motive is not for the humans' sake, it is for the sake and conservation of this planet," the Red Phoenix said sinisterly but her words were harsh, strong and incredibly focused, "my cleansing of the Earth shall start as of now. Starting with insignificant, little parasite! And once I have restored the Heaven's Eternity Crystal to its fullest, I will heal the rest of the world as well." Westwood's eyes widened with fear as he stared into the Red Phoenix's cold, merciless eyes.

Watching her starting walking towards him again, Westwood hastily pulled the trigger at point-blank range. Having all slammed their eyes shut on hearing the gunshot, everyone opened them again slowly and were flabbergasted to see the Red Phoenix standing perfectly still with the bullet hovering half an inch away from her forehead.

"How did she do that?!" Ducky gasped in astonishment but the others were far too amazed to reply. Westwood glared open-mouthed, hardly able to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

"H-how……could…!?!" he stuttered horrified.

"Please! If I can stop a ballistic missile and an entire rifle's magazine, you're really expecting that measly little pea-shooter to do the job?" the Red Phoenix said degradingly, taunting him with a sly smile and excited eyes, "I thought even you had a few more brain cells than that Dominic…" Panic-stricken and enraged, Westwood roared and fired repeatedly at her. His warcries and fierce gun-firing forced everyone within close proximity diving for cover. Lowering his weapon, Westwood continued to stare powerlessly as the Red Phoenix had frozen every single bullet inches from her face.

"Imm…Immmm…Impossssibblle!!!" Westwood babbled.

"Imm…Immmpossibbllee! Hah hah har! What's the matter?! I do believe you missed me poppet!" the Red Phoenix mocked pathetically.

"Incredible! She stopped every single shot and didn't even bat an eyelid!" Jill whispered to herself in awe.

"What happen?" Petrie squawked peeking over Cera's neckshield.

"Look! She is still standing there!" Ali exclaimed amazed yet fretfully.

"How did she survive all that?! I thought those 'gun' things were supposed to kill stuff like they did to the sharpteeth back in the Valley?" Cera said completely confused.

"Could it be magic she is using?" Ducky asked but everyone's attention was re-diverted to the Red Phoenix who was prodding the suspended bullets and counting them aloud.

"Fourteen…fifteen…" she recorded but stopped and placed her head in her counting hand, " Hmm…now correct me if I'm mistaken but that is a custom made handgun that is supposed to fire…sixteen rounds isn't it?" Burning with rage, Westwood flicked the pistol back up to firing position.

"Wanna find out the hard way, you back stabbing, traitorous she-devil?!" he edged firing the last shot. To his surprise, the trigger appeared to be frozen solid and refused to budge. Westwood attempted to shoot again and again but nothing happened.

"What's…wrong…with this…stupid…" he barked at the weapon.

"What's the matter honey? Gun not working?" the Red Phoenix asked sweetly raising a hand to him. To his shock, Westwood found the gun trying to leave his hand. Struggling to keep hold of it, he felt the psychic force increasing and gradually overpowering him as he thrust his free hand to fight with the gun. The gang watched and gasped as the pistol suddenly shot out of Westwood's hands and floated into the Red Phoenix's outstretched one.

Weaponless, Westwood watched in horror as the Red Phoenix began examining the pistol for the cause of the problem.

"Ahhhhh! Here's your problem…" she announced pulling the turret back and firing on Westwood without any warning. The bullet struck him, hitting him in his left kneecap and sending him screaming and tumbling to the floor, " Doesn't help if the safety's on deary," the Red Phoenix said smiling and tossing the now empty gun to one side.

"Damn you…you flicked the safety down…you dirty…!!!" Westwood cursed but he quickly yelled in pain as another bullet tore through his right arm.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Such rudeness! Rudeness I am no longer tolerant to!" she tutted as she psychically shot the floating bullets at her target. Westwood could do nothing except scream in agony as he felt every shot plough straight through his limbs rendering him completely immobile. Littlefoot and his friends slammed their eyes shut unable to watch Westwood being tortured at the hands of the Red Phoenix who seemed to be enjoying him suffer. Upon throwing the penultimate bullet and striking Westwood in the shoulder, she stopped and walked over to him as he lay, breathing heavily, soaked in a growing puddle of his own blood. Jill, who could barely watch the shooting herself, looked down on the crippled man very puzzled.

"_What is she planning_?" she thought, "_None of those hits are critical enough to cause death. They are all in his arms and legs…what's she playing at? Planning to watch him die of blood loss? Or does she have something else up her sleeve?_"

Walking over to him, the Red Phoenix held her hands over the injured director and lifted him off the ground. Floating in mid-air, Westwood, shaking and fitting uncontrollably, feebly looked at the evil woman as she beamed at him sadistically.

"How did that feel? Painful? Good…because that was for everyone of my loved ones you murdered with your virus. You robbed me of my children, my family and my life!"

"W-why didn't…you just…kill me…?" Westwood gurgled.

"I haven't killed you because I wanted you to feel the excruciating pain of the lives you destroyed. Before I wipe out the humans, I felt I should at least claim vengeance for those who fell victim to your petty scheme for wealth."

"But…you killed…your own child…" Westwood croaked.

"I killed Jason because my trapped spirit was still inside him. I understood that when I was draining his life force and claimed the energy for his Stone of Essence. By reclaiming my spirit, my hatred for you and the misery you put me through with those experiments of yours! You even had the nerve to give me a serial number as if I were nothing more than a lab guinea pig. The serial Alpha-Delta 1615 ring any bells?! I'm sure they do," she spat as she turned around and stopped just passed the final bullet that was still floating in its place.

"You're an insane, possessed psycho! A monster hell-bent on causing nothing but death and destruction to all you see!" Westwood said coughing sickeningly.

"Now you know how the world looked upon you as a being of this planet. A soulless killer but I will heal the planet. I wouldn't expect a desk worker like you to understand the logic behind my actions, but you can be rest assured…you won't be given the chance to comprehend…" the Red Phoenix said without turning to face him. Westwood felt a wave of dread shudder down him as he watched her slowly levitate to the same height as him with her back still towards him. No one could break eye contact with the two of them as they both hovered as if suspended on invisible threads. Suddenly, the Red Phoenix spun around at lightening speed and kicked the last bullet straight towards Westwood's chest. The shot hit its target and the incredible force behind the strike carried him backwards through the large stained-glass window. The coloured glass shattered as the evil man wailed and plummeted to the pavement, over fifty stories, below.

"Happy landings…Mr Westwood…" the Red Phoenix whispered with a deathly smile as the sky cracked with lightening and rumbled with thunder.

As the erratic weather gradually died down, the gang slowly unfurled from each other terrified by the flashing sky and the thunderclap as they witnessed Westwood's deathly freefall.

"Oh my goodness!" Ali gasped as she surveyed the office that was now littered with shards of coloured glass.

"Westwood's gone!" Cera cawed breathlessly.

"A fitting end for such a fool…" the Red Phoenix replied dismissively kicking a loose piece of glass behind her, throwing it out of the shattered window.

"But you were together! Why you do that to him?!" Petrie asked floating down to the ground and investigating a tiny glass fragment that was close by.

"I had no intention of helping that low-life purge the world of its riches. Crap like that doesn't interest me," she said as she slowly stepped towards Littlefoot, "my ambitions require the co-operation of certain individuals…"

Drawing closer, Littlefoot began to squirm and writhe but quickly gave up. He was bound too tightly to resist or flee. Quick to respond, Cera jumped forwards and pawed the ground, ready to attack.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled charging straight for the Red Phoenix. Smiling, she raised a hand and a bright, pink flash erupted from her palm. Unphased by the sparkle, Cera suddenly felt her head hit a hard surface unexpectedly. Having hit the surface at full, ramming speed, Cera bounced backwards and landed on her back unable to see clearly.

"Cera! Are you all right?" Ducky cooed as Spike leapt over to her.

"Ooooooo…my head…what happened?" Cera gurgled dizzily. Once the others had formed around her, they all looked up towards the Red Phoenix to see a glistening, pink wall blocking them off from Littlefoot.

"What is this thing?!" Ali called placing her front feet on the translucent wall.

"Just a little playpen for you children to watch from as I obtain the second Stone of Essence's power. I suggest you say your goodbyes now because you won't have long once I lay hands on him," the Red Phoenix told them from over her shoulder before staring for Littlefoot again. The gang pounded with all their might against the bizarre force-field but it was impossible to destroy. Watching helplessly, Littlefoot found a pair of bare feet directly under his nose. Following them up slowly, he cringed as he saw the Red Phoenix beaming down on him.

"Come on. We have wasted enough time," she said to him sweetly, "let us begin…"

Chapter 62: Purity of Heart 

Desperate to reach Littlefoot, Cera and the others pounded and hollered to him through the pink barrier which clattered loudly but didn't budge an inch. Jill rattled her metal cuffs angrily trying to free herself but they only held her tighter. The Red Phoenix looked around at the chaos and distress Littlefoot's friends were demonstrating and then looked down on him again.

"Seems as though your pals are just as excited about all this as I am," she said smiling. Littlefoot whimpered and shuffled slightly as the pandemonium continued around him. There appeared to be no way out of this one as the evil woman knelt down beside him.

"You're strong kid. You have a divine and incredible inner strength; very rare for someone of your age. It is a shame that it appears to be the only way for me to achieve my goal and believe me…if can claim the life of my only remaining child, I can claim yours just as easily," she said to him potently. Littlefoot began to shudder as the Red Phoenix stood upright, took a deep breath and raised her hands over him.

"Time to end it," the Red Phoenix said finally. Littlefoot suddenly felt something pick him up effortlessly, almost as easily as his grandparents lifting him up. He was astounded by how his entire body was being manipulated and rotated without him shifting a single muscle. He came to a slow stop, floating off the ground with his eyes in direct line with the Red Phoenix's. With an unfading smile, she gingerly placed the palms of her hands on his cheeks and stared deep into his quivering, sparkling eyes.

"Now just relax. I assure you, you won't feel a thing," she told him softly but Littlefoot was far from relaxed as he sat suspended in her hands with his life about to end, "close your eyes and think about everything you love and cherish. These memories will carry you off to the next world."

Before he was able to make a decision, Littlefoot automatically felt his eyelids becoming heavy and his mind instantly switched to his most cherished thoughts that clouded his vision. He could feel a strange, glowing warmth growing from within as scenes of his past flickered before him. He began to daydream about his mother, his grandparents, meeting all his friends for the first time, their perilous journey to the Great Valley and the overjoyed feeling of finding it after so many trials and obstacles. The countless other adventures he and the rest of the gang went on, experiencing many new sites and making new friends. Littlefoot could feel the small, growing warmth spreading slowly through his body as his memories turned over like pages of a book. The next chapter he found himself viewing were the events that had taken place once Jason had made his first appearance in the Great Valley. From the very second he met him, Jason had saved him and gotten him out of trouble. Navigating out of the Forest of Fear, saving him from drowning, rescuing Dinah from the Smoking Mountain, reviving Cera's father and all the other events and hardships they had overcome. He could easily see every detail and action that occurred as if he were standing in the very moment, reliving it all over again. Being submerged in his deepest of memories, Littlefoot began to feel that warmth from before starting to burn more fiercely and spread more quickly. It has suddenly erupted into a fiery burst which was radiating from the tip of his tail right up to his face.

From the outside looking on, the dinosaur children and Jill stood marvelling at a glowing, blue aura which was encircling Littlefoot's levitated body. It was wrapped around him like a flowing cloak and the shade of blue was continuously growing deeper in colour. As he floated with his head in her hands, the Red Phoenix's devilish smile lengthened as she could feel Littlefoot's life force gathering and building up for her to steal.

"Yes…keep dreaming little one. I can sense your energy collecting nicely. Soon, you won't be able to do anything but sleep for all eternity…" she whispered to him. Unable to hear her words, Littlefoot continued to dream about his past. So far he had been enjoying every aspect of his life as the burning sensation carried on growing exponentially. Suddenly, Littlefoot felt something strike him like a heavy blow to his stomach. It made him lurch uncomfortably at the sight he had just envisioned. Before his eyes, Littlefoot found himself revisiting the moment when Jason fell victim to his mother as she robbed him of his life force.

"JASON!" he tried to cry out to him as Jason dangled in the Red Phoenix's hands.

"L…Lit-Lit…Little…foot…….I'm…I'm sorry…" he heard him hoarsely whisper back.

"N…no!" Littlefoot gasped to himself, "…No!…Not again!" Jason's eyes locked with his for one last time before the bright flash that signified the end of his life erupted before Littlefoot's eyes forcing him to shield them as best he could. As the light slowly dissipated, Littlefoot focused back on Jason and his mother as he lurched up and crumpled limply in her arms.

"JAAAASSSOOONNNN!!!" Littlefoot screamed as he watched history repeating itself.

Suddenly, Littlefoot's world seemed to be deteriorating around him. Extremely confused,, he managed to break himself away from the chaos surrounding him and tried to examine everything. Peculiarly, every single drop of colour had been sapped from the trees, the sky; the entire Green Meadow in fact. The whole area was a bland shade of black and white. Even his friends, Jason and his mother and the elder dinosaurs who stood on the opposite side of the magical wall of fire conjured up by the Red Phoenix were all ghastly shades of unnatural grey. The surprises didn't end there as Littlefoot quickly discovered more bizarre happenings. Looking back to the Red Phoenix holding Jason's lifeless body, he was thunderstruck to realise that her lips were moving but no sound was coming from them. Turning to the others, he was amazed to find that they had also become completely mute.

"What's going on?! I can't see any colours and I can't hear a thing! What's happening to me?" Littlefoot whispered to himself in awe. He was shocked that he was able to hear himself but nothing else.

Before he could concentrate long enough, Littlefoot noticed erratic movements out of the corner of his eye. Reacting to it, he looked up to see the Red Phoenix hurl her son's dead body into the air silently. As Jason landed awkwardly on the soft grass, Littlefoot galloped over to him and scanned his immobile torso. Despite having happened already, it was excruciatingly painful to have to witness it a second time.

"Oh Jason…I'm the one who should be sorry…" he said barely able to keep looking down on him, "…I made so many stupid mistakes. I gave up my stone without thinking of the trouble it would cause and I pushed you away. If I knew all this was going to happen, I never would have picked up that lousy, blue stone in the first place!" Littlefoot began to sob as his inaudible world continued to revolve around him.

"Jason…………I am so sorry………"

From inside the executive office, everyone was still feebly trying to get to Littlefoot but their prisons refused to give. The Red Phoenix was smiling gleefully as she felt the energy reaching its peak.

"Just a little longer kiddo," she whispered but her attention was suddenly drawn to tears forming in the corners of Littlefoot's eyes, "I know, the past can hurt…but soon it will be the only thing that will link you to the realm of the living. A pitiful memory of a meaningless existence." Reverting her eyes back down, she returned to sapping Littlefoot of his life force. As she became engrossed in her energy withdrawal, the Red Phoenix failed to notice Littlefoot's tears starting to roll down his cheeks as he subconsciously dreamt of his history. The tears tumbled down his face and paused on his chin where more and more began to congregate. Ignoring them, the Red Phoenix could sense the final ounce of Littlefoot's life about to leap out of his body but before she reached that breaking point, the tears that had collected on Littlefoot's chin dripped off and landed on her right arm.

As the tear made contact with her skin, the Red Phoenix was horrified to suddenly feel an eruptive burning searing down her arm. Unable to bear the massive pain, she broke her focus and released Littlefoot who, instantaneously, gasped for air as if he had just surfaced from being underwater and snapped his eyes open. As his consciousness was instantly restored, the cloth in his mouth and the ropes that magically bound his legs together fell to the ground.

"Wha…What is this black magic!?!" the Red Phoenix screamed in pain and awe as Littlefoot suddenly felt the pull of gravity promptly return him to the ground. Hitting the carpeted floor as full force, Littlefoot puffed exhaustedly. His body felt numb but every nerve in him was burning and tingling. Shaking his head to clear himself of the daze, Littlefoot looked up to see the Red Phoenix clutching and writhing with her arm as if a parasitic worm had crawled beneath her skin. Just then, his attention was drawn to a loud clattering to one side of him. Whirling around, he saw Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali trapped behind the pink force-field. Still with the remnants of tears in his eyes, Littlefoot ran over to them whilst the Red Phoenix was subdued.

"Littlefoot!" they all called as he came bounding over.

"Guys! Hang on!" he shouted to them.

"No Littlefoot! Wait! The wall!" Ali tried to warn him but Littlefoot was too far I his hurried strides to react in time. Ploughing headlong into the translucent wall, the gang were amazed to find that Littlefoot had penetrated it and passed straight through it.

"Wha! How the?!" Cera babbled dumbstruck.

"What? What'd I do?" Littlefoot asked curiously.

"How did you get through that pink wall?!" Ducky gasped.

"Huh?" Littlefoot said rearing back a little confused but he followed his friends' eyes behind him to the force-field. On the wall, at Littlefoot's eye level, a blue, glistening substance was sprayed all over it. It was the last few drops of Littlefoot's tears. As they all looked at each other astounded, the pink wall began to crack. Jumping beside his friends, Littlefoot watched awestruck as the cracks grew ad spread outwards rapidly. Within a few seconds, the entire magic wall looked like an extremely fragile panel of glass on the verge of breaking. After a split second pause, the pink barrier exploded and shattered into millions of tiny shards before evaporating into the air.

With their prison destroyed, the gang darted out and headed to where Jill and Stone were hanging from their shackles. But before they got too far, they all screeched to a halt as the Red Phoenix, panting and holding her injured arm, stood up and glared at Littlefoot spitefully.

"You!…You four-legged, bewitched little runt! I don't know how you managed to do that but you will regret it!" she hissed scornfully.

"B-but…I don't know how I did it!" Littlefoot protested.

"SILENCE! I was going to give you a peaceful passing but now, you will all die a lowly dog's death just like Westwood," the Red Phoenix spat as she glowered down on them all. All six of them inched backwards slowly as they watched her massage her injured arm.

"It's time to die!"


	20. Part 18: The Master of True Power

Chapter 63: Fire Storm 

The Red Phoenix stood fuming at Littlefoot's counterattack which, even Littlefoot himself, could not explain how it came about. In some form or another, his tears had some strange, magical property which burned the Red Phoenix as he sapped the life out of him. Despite his miraculous evasion of death, he and his friends stood fearfully in front of the enraged woman as she gritted her teeth and glared at them still very stunned but the event.

"_How did he conjure up the power to do that? His tears were like acid searing on my skin,_" she thought anxiously, "_by the look on his face, it doesn't look like he has the slightest clue as to how he did it either. He must have done it all subconsciously; fear of his looming fate must have triggered something inside him._" Suddenly, the Red Phoenix felt something click in her head. After contemplating the idea for a while, she then stood up straight and her trademark, sinister smile returned to her face.

"So…the Guardian has finally come out of hiding and discovered the source of his power even without possession of his Stone of Essence," she said to Littlefoot smugly. She chuckled as she read the awestruck expression on his face.

"Wh-what? My power?" he choked.

"Yep. The power bestowed upon you as a chosen one for holding the Guardian's Tear Sapphire. You must know of the legend of each of the stones," she continued but Littlefoot just blinked vacantly at her.

"So naïve…" the Red Phoenix sighed, "the power sealed in each of the stones is available only to the holder of the stone. It is an untold, unimaginably potent power that is capable of anything. Each of the three stones has it and it is those three powers which must purify the final formation that is it Heaven's Eternity Crystal. But the crystal has a certain amount of power stored within it as well; that is how I obtained my share. Unlike you, Jason and Ms. Fielding up there, I have studied these stones for long enough in my previous life to know how to manipulate the power. Yours still remain dormant."

"So, what you're saying is that Littlefoot has magic powers?" Ali asked.

"In simplistic terms, yes," she replied.

"And the stone is what gave them to him…" Ducky developed.

"Very good. Just goes to show that girls are much more clued up on things than boys. The more intellectual of the species…" the Red Phoenix drawled. Petrie and Spike screwed up their faces insulted but Littlefoot was much too entranced in the Red Phoenix's explanation on his sapphire to care.

"The power sealed in the stones is distributed to the holder and it is then their duty to use that ability to help complete their merged form. Only then can the true power of the cosmos be unleashed."

"But wait…you say holders of stones must help. You not stone holder so why you doing it?" Petrie questioned.

"Ah ha! All part of my plan. Somehow, I don't think the three current holders would help me in my cleansing of the Earth. Am I right?" the Red Phoenix said unfurling a hand to Littlefoot's face for him to take it. Littlefoot took a step backwards and just glared at her solemnly, "I thought so. In light of that fact, I have decided to forcefully remove that power dormant within them so I can purify the crystal myself. You see, as I used to be the owner of the Warrior's Heart Ruby before I passed it onto my son. But that is not all I gain from sapping the chosen one's of their power."

"There's more?" Littlefoot breathed a little bewildered. The Red Phoenix smiled malevolently and spread her arms apart revealing the glowing red triangle in the centre of her chest. It was radiating a warm, red light which was beginning to pulsate rhythmically. The gang marvelled at it as she continued.

"By absorbing the energy of each chosen one, I gain their unique abilities to add to my own."

Looking closer, all six of them could see the glowing, red triangle growing brighter and pulsing faster, lighting up her entire body. The light radiated outwards forcing them to take a nervous step away, unsure whether the light would cause them any harm. With the size of the light stretching all the way around her like a glowing bubble, the Red Phoenix then raised her right hand up to the sky and clenched it tightly. Instantly, the red bubble suddenly flickered white and then shrunk into the Red Phoenix's raised hand. Once all of it had disappeared from view, the Red Phoenix slowly lowered her hand to eye level and flicked her fingers out from the fist. Reacting to her movement, the ball of light suddenly erupted and burst with a blinding flash. The gang shielded their eyes as the glare slowly dissipated revealing the Red Phoenix with her right hand engulfed in a pale, red and white flame.

"Kids. Behold the immense power and might bestowed upon the Warrior and his ruby!" she announced waving her flaming hand around causing it to roar as it passed through the air. Littlefoot and his friends stood flabbergasted as the magic fire licked and burned fiercely.

"Let's turn up the heat a little," the Red Phoenix smirked as she lifted her hand threateningly. Everyone stood poised as she swung her hand across her, sending fireballs in their direction.

"Scatter!" Littlefoot shouted as the fireballs shot hazardously close to their heads. Despite warning his friends, he failed to move himself as one stray fireball struck him head-on. The force of the attack threw him into the back wall, knocking him out.

"Littlefoot!!!" Ali cried as she turned back to him.

"One down…five to go!" the Red Phoenix cackled evilly as she watched the rest of them scramble for cover like frightened rabbits.

Flicking around, the Red Phoenix saw Petrie, Spike and Ducky fleeing to a side door. Smiling, she launched three fireballs at them which struck the bookcase to the left of the door. As the oak shelving ignited, the entire bookcase burst into flames and toppled towards the door.

"Spike! Look out!" Petrie cried dodging the fiery books that were raining down on him. Gasping, Spike dug his heels into the ground as deep as he could trying desperately to stop. Still sliding towards the engulfed barricade as it crashed ahead of him, Spike turned swinging his back end around to try and run in the opposite direction. In his spin, Ducky was thrown from her seat atop him and she shot headlong towards the roaring fire. Screaming, Ducky slammed her hands over her eyes unable to watch but she suddenly felt her body lurch at a funny angle and something clamp around her tail. Slowly removing her hands from her face, she was extremely shocked to see the floor hovering below her. Looking up, she smiled widely as she watched Petrie carry her away from the hungry flames.

"You okay Ducky?" Petrie puffed breathlessly as he set her down out of harm's way.

"Oh yes! Thanks to you Petrie," Ducky sighed hugging him closely. A moment later, Spike came galloping over to check over his sister for any damage.

"I am alright Spike! I am," she assured him patting him on the nose. Spike hummed and smiled but quickly became concerned on hearing terrified screams at the other end of the office.

"Uh oh! Cera and Ali in trouble!" Petrie cawed pointing to them.

"Quick Spike!" Ducky cried. Without another word, the stegosaurus scooped up his sister, flicked her back onto his neck and sprinted for the others.

Across the way, Cera and Ali stood with their backs against the wall. The Red Phoenix was closing in on them with her flaming hand held high, ready to strike.

"What now?!" Ali squeaked glancing at Cera quickly.

"You're asking me?!" Cera wailed as she awaited the incoming attack.

"Better run!" the Red Phoenix warned stretching her hand up an extra inch before bringing it down throwing a vertical wall of fire at the two of them.

"Eeeeyyyyaaaa!!!" Cera and Ali both squealed in unison diving opposite ways to avoid the flames as it crashed between them. The Red Phoenix growled as her attack missed. She quickly looked around to her right to see Ali dart behind the massive desk and was about to give chase when she then saw Cera running in the opposite direction passed the shattered stained-glass window. Smirking darkly, she took a leap towards her landing a few metres ahead of her. Cera screeched to a halt as she stared into the Red Phoenix's evil eyes.

"Hey Cera! Catch!" she called before swinging her arm upwards and flashing a wave of heat and flames at the horrified triceratops. With no time to react, the force of the fiery wall threw Cera backwards towards the broken window. Cera groaned and hissed as she bounced along the carpeted floor. She felt her back legs slide out over the edge as she grinded her front feet into the floor stopping her from plummeting to her doom.

"Help! Somebody help me!" Cera wailed as she wriggled and writhed to get back up. The Red Phoenix was approaching her slowly.

Whilst Cera clung for dear life, Ali sat down for a brief second to recover and was quickly joined by Ducky, Petrie and Spike.

"Ali! Are you okay?" Petrie asked landing next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she wheezed but she jumped as she heard a voice shout down on them from overhead.

"Guys!" Jill bellowed to them urgently, "Guys look! Cera's in trouble! You gotta help her out!" Snapping their heads around, they watched as the Red Phoenix continued to advance on Cera. Panic-stricken, they all searched around for something to help but Spike broke the silence with a happy squeal. Following his line of sight, the rest of them turned to see Littlefoot slowly getting to his feet. He looked disorientated as he shook his head gingerly.

"Littlefoot!" Ali exclaimed feeling her heart give an excited little leap.

"Huh? Uuuuuurrggghhh…where…where am I?" Littlefoot babbled unsteadily as his senses gradually returned. Glad to see him relatively unharmed, Ali, Petrie, Ducky and Spike were sharply reminded of Cera's perilous situation as she let out another ear-splitting scream.

"Oh no, Cera!" Ducky said turning back to her.

"Littlefoot! Cera needs help!" Ali yelled across to him.

"What?" Littlefoot asked a little confused but another screech from Cera instantly caught his attention.

"Cera!" he called.

"Help me! Hurry!" she shrieked weakly as she floundered on the edge.

"I'm coming Cera!" he announced running to her. Picking up on their nervous cries, the Red Phoenix turned to see Littlefoot bounding towards Cera.

"You again! How many times do I have to kill you?!" she spat angrily. As Littlefoot got close her, the Red Phoenix batted Littlefoot away with the back of her flaming hand. Littlefoot flinched and rolled back the way he came, coming to an uncomfortable rest a few metres away. As the pain of the strike slowly subsided, Littlefoot got to his feet again to see the Red Phoenix smirk with a devilish twinkle in her eye.

"You're a tough bunch to crack I'll admit but you are all doomed to die right here! Starting with this one," she hissed malevolently turning back to Cera.

"Nooo!" Littlefoot cried and leapt at the Red Phoenix again but she turned and caught him by his throat. Littlefoot squirmed and choked as he dangled in her hand listening to her laughing.

"So willing to throw your life away. Fine. I'll steal you're life-force from your dead carcass!" she cackled.

"No Littlefoot!" Cera cried feeling her grip weakening.

"What we gonna do!" Petrie squawked panicking.

"Get in there kids! Kick her butt and save your friends!" Jill shouted down on them

"But we can't! She's too strong for us!" Ali complained.

"Maybe for each of you but take her on together. Fight as a team rather than individually," Jill said trying to boost their confidence. When she saw them shuffling and remaining indecisive under her, Jill roared.

"C'mon you guys! Get it together! You have to snap out of it! Nail her altogether as one unit. Stand as one! Stand as a herd! Stand side-by-side…as friends and use your combined strength and wisdom to overcome her! You've got to save Littlefoot and Cera or they'll perish!"

"Jill, right!" Petrie cawed puffing himself up.

"Oh yes! We must stand together and save them!" Ducky said valiantly.

"That's it gang! Well done!" Jill cheered as they quickly huddled together to formulate a plan. After a few seconds, they broke out and charged in separate directions. Jill smiled as she watched them carry out their idea.

"Go get her…" she said quietly.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot was still struggling to free himself from the Red Phoenix's grasp but she wasn't letting go. His chest began to ache from lack of air and his eyesight was becoming blurred.

"No escape for you this time…" the Red Phoenix hissed but Littlefoot was not looking directly at her. His vision was fixed on something past her burning eyes. Turning to see what he was focused on, the Red Phoenix was startled to see a stampede of dinosaurs heading straight for her. Petrie led the assault by dive-bombing at her head and, with her hands full, she couldn't defend herself effectively.

"Get out of here! Miserable bird!" the Red Phoenix snapped dodging the darting flyer as best she could.

"You let go of Littlefoot!" Petrie demanded diving at her again. As he circled back around for another attack, the Red Phoenix swung her hand up and caught Petrie in mid-air. Petrie spun uncontrollably towards the wall but he was caught by Ducky who jumped to catch him and landed perfectly back on top of Spike as he rampaged his way through the office directly at the Red Phoenix.

"Thanks Ducky," he smiled.

"It is alright. Now let us get her!" Ducky replied slapping Spike on the base of his neck, "GO SPIKE!!!" Kicking off to get an extra burst of speed, Spike galloped for his target who turned to him smiling.

"Want me? C'mon! Come at me!" she laughed charging up her flaming hand again. With a lessened grip on his neck, Littlefoot racked his brain for a way to help.

"_If Spike takes the Red Phoenix head-on…he won't stand a chance!_" Littlefoot thought horrified. Suddenly, a quick idea leapt to mind. Squinting and blinking rapidly, Littlefoot began trying to make his eyes water. If what the Red Phoenix had said before was true, then his tears should harm her again. As Spike careered onwards, Littlefoot felt a few tears well up in his eyes and begin to roll down his cheeks.

"_That will have to do,_" Littlefoot thought giving his head a flick. The tears dripped from his face and onto the Red Phoenix's flaming hand. Alarmed by the tears making contact, the Red Phoenix hissed as the burning that suddenly started on her hand. Littlefoot felt a leap of excitement spring up in him but he was shocked to see that she had recovered a lot quicker than last time. Still with him in her hand, the Red Phoenix glowered at him.

"Nice try but not good enough," she spat turning back to Spike who was nearly on top of them. Extremely worried that his plan hadn't worked as he had hoped and with no time to repeat it, Littlefoot began to panic.

"Hurry guys! I'm about to drop!" Cera cried. Suddenly, something snapped in his head. Taking a quick glance at Spike and back to the Red Phoenix, he noticed she wasn't paying attention to him. As Spike was a bound away and the Red Phoenix stood primed to attack, Littlefoot swung his body up and hooked himself onto the Red Phoenix anyway he could. With his legs and tail wrapped around her, he then tried hard to pull himself down to drop his weight and pull her off-balance. Bewildered by his sudden move, the Red Phoenix was lurched to the floor and stumbled.

"Now Spike! Hit her!" Littlefoot yelled as loud as he could. Still with his great speed behind him, Spike leapt up and launched himself straight into the Red Phoenix. The force of the blow sent her reeling backwards dropping Littlefoot in the process. Still stumbling backwards, the Red Phoenix remained on her feet.

"Quick Ali! Do it now!" Ducky called. From out of the corner of her eye, the Red Phoenix saw Ali dash out and swing her tail at her legs. Unable to shift in time, the Red Phoenix was swept off her feet and tumbled over Cera and out of the open window where she disappeared from view screaming.

Everyone cheered and yelled overjoyed at the Red Phoenix's defeat as they helped haul Cera back up into the office. Relieved to have her feet on solid ground again, Cera joined in the dancing and jovial cries with the others. Jill looked down on them all beaming widely.

"Well played kids! You slayed that that she-devil!" she congratulated.

"We did it! We beat her! We did!" Ducky exclaimed as spun Petrie in circles.

"Yeah! Nobody mess with us!" Petrie shouted as Ducky threw him into the air allowing him to somersault and loop in the air victoriously.

That was great!" Littlefoot smiled looking from one happy-go-lucky face to the next finally coming to a rest on Ali's. Without saying a single word, Littlefoot nodded and Ali blushed.

Suddenly, Ali's expression immediately switched as she slowly backed up with a hanging jaw.

"What is it Ali?" Littlefoot asked just as Ducky let out a terrified scream shattering the joyous atmosphere. Whirling around, Littlefoot's mouth dropped open with disbelief.

"It…it can't be…!" he cried exasperatedly.

"Oh but it is…" a voice said over them as they all backed further into the room all completely thunderstruck. Right where she had fallen, the Red Phoenix was floating just outside the shattered window with her arms folded across her. Her eyes were burning with rage as she drifted into the office.

"No way! How…could…?!" Cera stammered.

"No one has ever gained the upper-hand over me before…EVER!" she growled lividly, "Consider this a triumph because it will be you're final." The gang huddled together as the Red Phoenix raised her flaming hand which was glowing a deeper shade of red.

"Since you value your friendship so much, I will now eradicate you all with the power of the Warrior. The power your human friend, Jason, was due to possess! Prepare to meet your maker! Now…DIE!!!"

Chapter 64: A Voice from Beyond 

The atmosphere was tense and on the verge of shattering as Littlefoot and his friends stoop powerless against the enraged Red Phoenix. Her trademark smile had been drained from her face as she stepped closer to them with her magical, flaming hand growing deeper and deeper red. She was enjoying watching the six of them cower beneath her mighty stature but the humiliation of being hurtled out of the open window to freefall to the pavement below, just like Westwood, filled her with a burning fury.

"Time to end this…I will not give you another chance to shame me the way you all did just now." Slowly, the Red Phoenix raised her flaming hand and began spinning it around like a torch as she chanted some words none of them could understand.

"What now?!" Petrie cawed, but before he could receive an answer, a great flash erupted in the room. Terrified, they all shuffled backwards as a wall of fire suddenly shot all around them.

"Oh no! We are trapped!" Ducky wailed helplessly.

"Quick Littlefoot! Use your magic power she was always going on about!" Cera yelled above the crackling of the flames.

"I…I can't! I don't know how!" Littlefoot whined watching the Red Phoenix as she continued to chant.

"Petrie, quick! Fly over the fire!" Cera then ordered turning to him.

"Me can't!" Petrie complained as he took a hop away from the flames as they suddenly leapt up to the ceiling as he approached them,

"There's no way out!" Ai shrieked.

"That's right! No escape this time!" the Red Phoenix hissed as she clenched her fist and opened it again sharply. In response, the Red Phoenix's hand began to flicker with an evil, unnatural flame of black and red. The magic fire seemed to be constantly changing its shades sometimes becoming more red and other times becoming more black.

"It is done," the Red Phoenix said finally examining her hand, "with this dark magic combined with the essence and life-force of the Warrior's Heart Ruby, I shall incinerate you all, burning you alive! And the sad part is…no one is coming to save you this time!"

"Jill! Help us please!" Ali begged becoming teary.

"Damn you Phoenix! How can you terminate the lives of these innocent children?" Jill screamed but the Red Phoenix looked up at her unphased by her words.

"I will destroy any creature who opposes me, regardless of age. This could have been resolved quickly and efficiently but all of you, every single one of you, had to create complications. And to all those who wish to meddle in my eradication of the humans who plague this Earth, they will die alongside them."

"Damn you, bitch! You'll never succeed! Never in…" Jill's voice was suddenly lost as she struggled with a force that appeared to be smothering her.

"SILENCE!!! You have no reason to intervene…not just yet anyway…Despite what you blabber on about…I will fulfil my task!" the Red Phoenix shouted angrily as she lowered her hand from Jill's direction. Feeling incredibly weak, Jill suddenly fell limp in her shackles.

"No! Jill!" Littlefoot cried as the Red Phoenix cackled.

"Despite all the brave words, this silly little girl is a fool to believe that my ambitions can be stopped now." She slowly turned to face the gang as she raised her flaming hand high.

"Well…goodbye my prehistoric friends. Time to give you a head start on your extinction!"

The gang all gasped as the fire on her hand suddenly exploded and a meteor shower of flames was launched high above them. With no where to run, all six of them screamed as the flames came crashing down on them, engulfing them in a living bonfire. Littlefoot could see his entire life flashing before his eyes as he sat in the heart of the fire. Just as his memory reached the end of his lifeline, he suddenly heard a voice scream out his name.

"LITTLEFOOT!!!" it cried. Littlefoot snapped his eyes open on hearing it.

"Huh? Who is that?" he replied but the voice seemed to being ignoring him as it began to scream out his name again along with his friends.

"Huh?! What was that?" Ali gasped.

"What's going on? Are we dead?" Cera whispered shivering with fear behind Spike.

"N-no. We're not," Littlefoot said slowly looking around. From where he was standing, he could see the world as a flickering wall of red. Whirling around, he quickly discovered that he was still in the office and it was exactly the way it was a few moments ago.

"I do not understand. We are standing in the fire, but we are okay…" Ducky said nudging Spike for him to remove his feet from his eyes.

"Hey! The fire not burn. It not even hot!" Petrie squawked taking flight.

"You're right Petrie. I'm perfectly fine!" Ali announced bewildered.

From the outside, the Red Phoenix stood gaping at the sight of Littlefoot and his friends still moving around inside the blazing fire completely unharmed.

"What! How is that possible? Littlefoot couldn't possibly conjure up something to protect himself that fast," she mumbled. Grinding her teeth lividly, she yelled to the entire room.

"HOW CAN YOU STILL BE ALIVE! You all should have been reduced to a pile of smoking ash by now!"

"Hey! Do you think we have a clue?" Cera shouted back, "Looks like your little magic trick didn't work after all."

"Is it you Littlefoot?" Ali asked him softly seeing him very distressed and confused.

"No…it's not me. I haven't done anything…" he replied blandly. Suddenly, something jumped to mind, "That voice…"

"Voice? What voice?" the Red Phoenix asked urgently, eager to know more.

"A voice spoke to me. It called my name…and then all my friends but…it's strange…" Littlefoot said pondering.

"What's strange Littlefoot?" Cera asked as everyone leaned in closer.

"It sounded familiar…almost like…I've heard it before…" he said slowly.

"Could it have been the same voice you heard when we nearly got squished by that boulder?" Ali suggested. Littlefoot leapt up excitedly.

"YES! Yes, that's it! It IS the same voice from back then! That's where I had heard it before," Littlefoot said jovially.

"And that voice saved you did it?" the Red Phoenix said flatly, "well, let's see if this saviour can repeat the heroic deed." She smiled evilly and raised her hand to attack again but she was horrified to find that the magic flame had disappeared.

"What?! How the…?" she gasped clutching her right hand trying to find it.

"Look! She has lost her magic fire!" Ducky squeaked pointing to her. Just as they turned to look, the fiery barrier around them suddenly melted away and evaporated into thin air.

"Hey! The fire's gone!" Cera exclaimed as she walked out from the spot as the wall of flames that held them in suddenly died down and burned out like a spent match.

"What the?! Why has the magic stopped? Has the channel of magic stopped flowing?" the Red Phoenix said as she frantically searched herself over. To her horror, the glowing, red triangle had stopped pulsing and the radiating light slowly faded out.

"AH! No! Something's blocking the energy flow! The stones must need to be recharged," she said touching the red triangle on her chest. The gang watched as the Red Phoenix examined her body but they jumped at the sound of groaning noises overhead. Turning to look up at the super-sized, phoenix medallion, they were relieved to see Jill and Stone starting to stir. Their joy was short-lived however as they suddenly saw a bright flash from out of the corner of their eyes.

Reverting their view back to the Red Phoenix, they were alarmed to see that she as on her knees and appeared to be in pain. She was writhing like some sort of demon was about to leap out of her body. After a few seconds, the gang gasped as they saw the three triangles on her body suddenly light up and shine with a brilliant, glistening light. One of deep-sea blue, the second of blood red and the last of forest green.

"What's happening to her?" Ducky asked breathlessly.

"I don't know!" Littlefoot replied thunderstruck as he watched the beams of light quickly detach themselves from the three triangles on the Red Phoenix's body and swirl around each other like star-dusted ribbons. The three trails then wrapped around one another and span around at light speed emitting a blinding ball of white light. All six of them backed away as the ball suddenly collapsed on itself and exploded throwing golden stars everywhere like glistening confetti. In place of the white ball of light, a small, flat pyramid comprised of three golden triangles floated in the air as it dripped stars like water droplets.

"Heaven's Eternity Crystal…" Littlefoot gasped.

"It's back!" Jill exclaimed as she watched the Red Phoenix slowly stand up and approach it.

"Obviously, the power I took from Jason didn't favour being separated from it's complete form for too long," she said standing next to the spinning pyramid, "but even in this form I can absorb your life-force and complete the crystal." Her eyes lit up as she raised her nearest hand to the floating pyramid. Inching it closer, the lower right-hand, golden triangle flashed red.

"Thankfully, the power I have already removed from Jason is still available to me and it is still going to be the power that will end your meaningless existence."

Everyone took a nervous step backwards as the Red Phoenix thrust her approaching hand onto the gold triangle that flickered red repeatedly and it suddenly started glowing. The room seemed to grow darker and thunderclaps from outside rang out deafeningly. As the chaos continued around them, they looked on awestruck as a red, triple spiralling beam twisted and twirled its way up the Red Phoenix's arm. The spiral then widened and smothered her entire body before erupting, covering her in a glowing, red aura. The sight was blinding as they all watched the Red Phoenix immersed in what appeared to be a red flame.

"The fire of the Warrior and your dear friend will destroy you at long last!" she cackled to them as she began to launch another attack. Fearfully, Littlefoot and his friends stood their ground awaiting her assault but for some reason, the Red Phoenix appeared to be struggling.

"What? What's wrong now?" she bellowed flinging her arms around pathetically trying to launch any kind of magic attack.

"What's happening? Why can't she use her magic?" Ali asked curiously but greatly relieved at the same time.

"She can't…" Littlefoot said slightly entranced.

"Huh? Why not Littlefoot?" Cera asked.

"Something is stopping her from using her magic…it's not letting her use that new power…" he continued monotonically.

"How can you tell?" Ducky asked inquisitively.

"I can sense it…it's being done on purpose…"

But what? What could it be?" Petrie cawed. Littlefoot then heard something. It was a weak, struggling voice saying something to him.

"What is it Littlefoot? What is doing it to her?" Ali asked anxiously. She was reading the shocked look on his face.

"I don't think 'what' is the right word…I think it's a 'who'…" he announced airily.

"A 'who'?" they all said together extremely confused. Suddenly, a voice rang out over the whole office.

"N-n…N-nooo… You…you can't…" it groaned. It sounded as if it was carrying something heavy and was fighting to keep it up.

"What was that?!" Cera called out worryingly.

"It sounded like someone is hurt…but who?" Ducky said nervously.

"Look! Look what happened to her!" Petrie exclaimed pointing to the Red Phoenix. The gang turned towards her and she was acting very erratically. It looked as though she was battling with something and it appeared to be getting the better of her.

"What is wrong with her?!" Ducky cried terrified.

"It's that voice! It is fighting with her!" Littlefoot said excitedly yet fretfully. Ali then gasped as she saw a strange flickering just in front of the Red Phoenix as she knelt down still battling with the invisible force. All eyes fixed on her as the voice rang out again.

"N…nooooo…" it moaned but much louder.

"You're…too late now!" the Red Phoenix mumbled back.

"No…I…I won't…I won't let you harm them!" the voice argued. The gang all looked at each other greatly shocked and perplexed.

"It's trying to protect us?" Cera blabbered astonished.

"Everyone! Look there!" Ali hollered as a formation slowly started to fade into the room. A body and its features gradually materialised part by part like clearing static from a television. As more of the figure became distinguishable, the gang became more and more alarmed.

"It…it a…human!" Petrie squawked in shock as the final few details of its structure became clear.

"I…I don't believe it!" Cera gaped open-mouthed.

"You?! But how did you…?!" the Red Phoenix called to the figure breathlessly who had now fully formed.

"N…no! You won't…use me for this!" it said throwing its arms out to the sides, blocking the Red Phoenix off from the rest of them. As the figure looked up, the gang instantly recognised the face.

"…JASON!!!" Littlefoot cried taking a bound forwards.

"It is Jason!" Ducky shouted as Spike leapt alongside Littlefoot ecstatically.

"Jason!" the rest of them yelled extremely shocked but overjoyed.

"But you died!" I killed you myself! It's impossible!" the Red Phoenix hollered exasperatedly.

"You may have destroyed my body…but you can't destroy my spirit!" Jason baked back. He then turned to her and shouted,

"You will never use my power to harm my friends!" With that, he held his hand up to her face and a bright flash shot from his palm and struck her in the eyes. Screaming, the Red Phoenix lurched up and stumbled around the room clutching her eyes.

Lowering his hand again, Jason sighed exhausted. He then heard galloping footsteps from behind him. He turned slowly to see Littlefoot charging towards him.

"Jason!" he cried happily.

"No Littlefoot! Don't!" Jason warned but he had already leapt up to pounce on him. To Littlefoot's amazement, Littlefoot didn't feel his front feet hit anything solid. He sailed on and landed in a heap behind Jason.

"Littlefoot!" the others cried running to help him.

"Huh? Jason?" Littlefoot gasped horrified as he turned back to face him but Jason simply shook his head.

"I tried to tell you. I am of no physical form Littlefoot…I do not exist in the realm on the living anymore," he explained sorrowfully.

"So…you are just…like a ghost?" Littlefoot said getting on all fours again and wandering back around to his front.

"That about sums it up. I am a prisoner; held captive by my own power. The Red Phoenix drained me of my life-force and sapped my power to purify the Heaven's Eternity Crystal." Littlefoot strolled up to him cautiously and tried to place a nervous on his stomach. He gasped as his foot passed straight through him and he promptly snatched it out again.

"You see…I only exist in spirit. I am trapped inside my own Stone of Essence. It was only because the Red Phoenix was overusing the power of the Warrior that I could snatch a chance at preventing another attack."

So you saved us? When the fire came down on us?" Ali asked airily.

"Yes…and when the building almost fell you and Littlefoot. I deflected it purely because I did not wish for you to perish at the hands of my mother utilizing my power for evil. She carelessly left the magic channel between her and the boulder open so I had a chance to deflect it.

"Jason," Jill called to him, "what did you do to her?" Jill asked nodding towards the Red Phoenix as she continued to writhe in pain with her hands over her smarting eyes.

"I have merely blinded. It is all the power I have since she constantly uses my power instead of her own. The effects are temporary and she will recover soon but it will given me enough time to talk to you about all this."

Littlefoot could see the serious expression spread on Jason's face and he felt his heart sink. Although the real person stood only a few inches from him, he was greatly saddened that he was nothing more than a spectre caged within his own power source; a mere fraction of the boy he had grown to respect as a true friend.

"Littlefoot…what is it?" Ali asked watching him closely.

"Huh? Oh nothing," he said shaking his head, "go on Jason. You wanted to tell us something."

"Yeah. The Red Phoenix wants nothing but total power over all living things and she plans to…" he started but Cera butted in.

"Yeah, yeah! She wants to put all the power into that shiny rock over there so that she can get rid of all the humans in one go," she said all in one breath, "we know that much already!"

"Okay then…but there is a way to stop her," Jason said.

"There is?! How?" Petrie chirped anxiously.

"The three Stones of Essence must be reverted back into their original forms. From there, she will not have enough power to do any long term damage but she will still dangerous."

"Oh great! So she will still have her magic," Cera groaned disdainfully.

"Yes, but she won't be as powerful as she is now. With all three stones as single structures, she will be easy match for either Jill or Littlefoot."

"But why just them kid? Why not any one of us?" Stone asked feeling left out.

"Sorry serge, but only those who have been chosen to hold the stones can take her on. To fight her without magic is almost suicide…I learned that lesson the hard way."

"So how do we do it?" Ducky asked as a crash was heard on the other side of the room. The Red Phoenix was still thrashing about and knocked over the last standing bookcase.

"One of you have to get either Littlefoot or Jill to touch their specific stone as it lies in the crystal and command your stone back into your possession. If your will is strong enough and you've awakened your dormant power…the stone will instantly pull out of its formation and return to its original form. Since all three stones are required to make the crystal complete, if one has been removed, the other two stones will revert back to their first forms too."

"…Erm…you get all that?" Petrie whispered to Ducky. She simply shrugged her shoulders and continued listening.

"But how do we know if our powers have been awakened?" Jill asked feeling slightly concerned.

"I can't answer that…Only you will know. All I can say is that it will arrive if you truly desire your power for a purpose. A purpose that burns in your very soul to fulfil. Littlefoot, remember the time when I played my piccolo and your eyes started burning?"

"…Yeah. I remember that."

"It's just like that. That melody proves that the power is inside you. The melody is an indicator to show that the power is still there but it's dormant. You're burning desire to accomplish something will spark that energy to become active but be warned. Your stone will know if you are being truthful. Make sure it's not just something off the top of your head."

Jason stopped expecting them to understand all but Littlefoot came forward again.

"So…what happens after that?" he asked.

"You escape…" Jason said chirpily.

"Escape?…Just like that?" Cera argued bluntly.

"Well…yeah. Pretty much…" he replied matter-of-factly.

"How?" Petrie asked.

"The Chronos Doorway. Use that to get back to your own time. Jill or Stone will have to reprogram it and the one of you will have to use your power to supply it with enough energy to run."

"Great plan!" Jill commended.

"How'd you know all this stuff?" Cera asked curiously.

"Tapped it pretty much straight from the Red Phoenix. When she summons my power, part of my subconscious travels with it," he answered but he noticed that something was not right. Jason turned to see that Littlefoot looked very downfallen and depressed.

"Littlefoot? What's wrong buddy?" he asked, "I've told you all I can, what's the matter?"

"You've told us everything but…what about…you?" Littlefoot said mournfully.

"Me? Littlefoot…I…" Jason stuttered. He looked at Littlefoot as he lowered his head regretfully forcing him to do the same. Everyone remained silent. Jason sighed and looked Littlefoot in the eye.

"I…I doubt it is possible you can save me. My fate has already been dealt out. You and your friends have yet to receive yours and I'd never forgive myself if it was my power that delivered it to you…to any of you." Everyone locked eyes with Jason as he looked away feeling greatly ashamed.

"This insane woman has caused nothing but destruction since she obtained my power," he sighed, "if that power was to claim the lives of those I cared about the most…it would torture me forever…even in the state I am in now." No one could say a word as Jason then looked at them all with a smile.

"I could never harm…my truest friends…I just…I just hope you can see me…as the same…" he said softly. They all seemed shocked to begin with but they all beamed at his words.

"You always were…" Littlefoot said smiling widely. Jason snapped his head around awestruck.

"You were then…you are now…and you always will be…" Littlefoot continued, his smile ceasing to fade.

"Littlefoot…I…err…I…" Jason stammered with a hanging jaw, "you…you really mean that?"

"Every word…" Ali said stepping towards him.

"Yep, yep, yep! A true friend through and through!" Ducky chirped merrily.

"Uhh-huh!" Spike hummed agreeingly.

"Like you say Jason…friends forever…" Petrie said hovering above him.

"You may not be a dinosaur…and you'll always be weird to me…" Cera started, watching and smiling as Jason wrinkle up his face, "but…you still make a good friend."

"You too Cera?! Wow! I'm…I'm speechless…" Jason spluttered, "I didn't know you felt that way…thanks you guys…" All six of them beamed at him.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash that filled the room. As it dissipated, the gang all looked at Jason who had straightened upright and had gone completely rigid. He looked like he was having difficulty breathing. They then saw a glowing hand had passed through him ad it appeared to be causing him pain.

"Touching…very touching but you're greatest fear will undoubtedly be carried out…by me!" a malicious voice cackled from behind Jason. The hand was then snatched out of his abdomen and he fell to his knees clutching the impact point which was rippling with a white light. Standing over him was the Red Phoenix.

"JASON!" Littlefoot cried dashing to him.

"Lit…Littlefoot…all of you…please…stop her…" Jason said weakly as the light started radiating upwards, making his features increasingly indistinguishable.

"I'll banish your spirit to the nether-regions of hell boy!" the Red Phoenix hissed.

"No! Don't!" the gang all cried helplessly.

"My friends………………" Jason choked as the light fade taking his body with it," ……………farewell…" With that, the light died completely and Jason's ghostly form disappeared.

"Jason………no……don't go…" Littlefoot sighed defeated.

"Foolish child. How dare he pull a stunt like that over me!" the Red Phoenix spat angrily, "No matter. He has returned to his gem-stone prison to serve my wishes once more."

The gang, all still very distort at Jason's disbanding, looked at each other. Each one of them then tightened their expressions each remembering what Jason had just told them. Without saying a single word, they all lined up side by side and glared at the Red Phoenix who looked back relatively shocked.

"What's this? You're all falling in line for me to destroy you?" she sniggered sardonically.

"Wrong! We are all here to stop you!" Littlefoot boasted taking a valiant step forward. The Red Phoenix laughed at him as he stood up to her.

"Cute…very cute! You are going to stand up to me? All by your sorry lonesome?" she cackled but she was alarmed to see Ali then step out of line.

"No…not alone…" she said boldly.

"Yeah! You mess with one of us, you mess with the whole gang!" Cera snorted stepping up alongside Littlefoot.

"Together as one! Right Spike?" Ducky announced as she and Spike took their places in between Cera and Ali.

"We no scared of you anymore! We gonna beat you!" Petrie bellowed perching beside Ducky.

"Yes…we will beat you…for all the bad things you have done…and for Jason…" Littlefoot said potently narrowing his eyes.

"You all seem compelled to meet destruction at my hand…so be it," the Red Phoenix muttered bitterly extremely irritated by their stand against her. The gang stood poised as the Red Phoenix started to create a ball of energy in her hand.

"This is it then, as you wish. It's time for you to sleep…permanently!" she threatened.

"No way! We'll never give up! We can't lose!" Jill shouted. She could feel a burning wave flowing through her. Littlefoot and his friends readied themselves for the attack as the Red Phoenix powered up.

"This is it…no mercy!" she bellowed. In response, the six of them launched themselves directly at her at full speed yelling and screaming. The Red Phoenix stood her ground awaiting the oncoming onslaught.

Chapter 65: Military Tactics 

The rampage of dinosaurs roared forwards at their target. The Red Phoenix remained on the spot, primed for the first attack. The four quadrupeds charged headlong straight at her with Ducky mounting Spike like a soldier on horseback and Petrie sliced the air with graceful acrobatics like a fighter jet. Their enemy stood motionless as they approached striking distance. The Red Phoenix smirked and threw a hand up causing a wall of fire to sprout up from the carpet. The flames rippled along the floor towards them.

"Look out!" Ducky screeched as Ali, Spike and Littlefoot forced their momentum to shift sideways so they could dive out of harm's way. The Red Phoenix chortled as she watched them roll clumsily to the sides but she quickly became shocked when she saw Cera had vaulted over the low wall of flames and was continuing towards her. Alarmed, the Red Phoenix flicked large, vertical blades of energy at the rampaging triceratops but she dodged them all effortlessly.

"HA! You'll have to do better than that!" she grunted lowering her head to attack with her nose horn. Cera braced herself for an impact but she didn't feel her attack hit anything solid.

"Huh?" she said sliding to a stop.

"Didn't like that? Then how about this?" a voice bellowed beside her. Cera snapped around to see a glowing hand right in front of her face. Cera then felt an invisible force starting to pick her up.

"Uh…hey! Cut that out!" she whined as the force left her hovering off the ground as the Red Phoenix smiled at her, "Get offa me! Put me down!"

"As you wish," the Red Phoenix shrugged moving her round to her front psychically.

"Cera!" Littlefoot called seeing see was in trouble.

"I think your friends are calling you!" the Red Phoenix said smirking. Cera's eyes widened fearfully as she felt her body somersault in the air before being thrown back the way she came.

"Whoa! Watch out!" Petrie warned as a screaming Cera shot through the air, landing directly on top of Littlefoot, Spike and Ali. The Red Phoenix laughed aloud as the three of them tried to untangle themselves from each other. Whilst she chuckled, she failed to notice Petrie soaring at her with Ducky latched onto his legs like a hang-glider.

"You ready?" Petrie pre-empted.

"Yes! I am ready!" Ducky verified. With that Petrie swung back and threw her with all his might. Flying through the air, Ducky landed on the Red Phoenix's face.

"I have got you now!" she said scrambling all over her head blinding her with her hands.

"Get off you little, green gnat!" the Red Phoenix snapped flapping around trying to grab her.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot, Cera, Spike and Ali had finally detangled themselves.

"Gee Cera! You're heavy!" Littlefoot puffed breathlessly as he stood upright.

"Hey! It's not my fault!" Cera argued but she was interrupted by a frightened scream. They turned to find that the Red Phoenix had managed to grab Ducky and was holding her in one hand.

"Oh no! She's got Ducky!" Ali yelped urgently but she felt something barge past her.

"Hey Spike! Watch it!" Cera moaned as he galloped towards the Red Phoenix to help his sister. Ducky squirmed and struggled in the Red Phoenix's clutches as she squeezed tighter.

"I'm going to grind you into dust," she hissed malevolently.

"Oh no you not!" Petrie cawed boldly diving on her.

"Back for more punishment you miserable excuse for a bird?" the Red Phoenix taunted attempting to swat him with a free hand but Petrie ducked and swooped majestically around her feebly swipes.

"Ha ha! Me too fast for you!" he said triumphantly.

"Oh yeah? Let's see how you like this then…" the Red Phoenix said raising a hand as he approached again, "BLACK OUT!" Petrie stopped on hearing the chant and suddenly found himself completely smothered by an inky, black cloud that blotted out every single drop of light. Petrie coughed and spluttered as the abnormal gas filled his nostrils and airways.

"Hey! Me can no see!" he choked.

"Try dodging this!" he then heard from somewhere around him. Petrie then felt something strike him from behind, knocking him out of the air. Wailing, he careered across the room coming to a painful rest as he hit the wall and slid down it onto the carpet behind the large, oak desk. The Red Phoenix continued to laugh mockingly at the gang's foolhardy attempts.

"Any more for anymore?" she announced openly.

"Just one…" Cera called to her with a sly grin. Intrigued, the Red Phoenix turned to look in her direction and was dumbfounded to see a massive, green blur heading straight for her.

"What the?!" she gaped just as Spike let out and almighty roar and leapt up onto her. Unable to counter the attack, the Red Phoenix was tackled and flew backwards releasing Ducky as she stumbled. Fearing that she would crash headfirst into the wall, she let out a scream of fright. Reacting to her cry, Spike quickly sprinted as fast as he could to her aid. Positioning himself between her and the wall, Spike jumped up and caught Ducky on his head before landing and colliding sideways with the wall in a skid.

"Ohhhh…Thank you Spike! You have rescued me again!" she sighed greatly relieved. Spike beamed and hummed happily. Just then, they both turned to see the rest of the gang had already followed up and were attacking her again whilst she was subdued. With a quick glance at each other, Ducky and Spike sped off to re-join the fray.

From their spectator seats suspended above the office floor, Sergeant Stone and Lieutenant Fielding could do nothing but watch as the young dinosaurs fought with the insane woman.

"Grrrr…These stupid, bloody shackles!" Stone cursed fidgeting in the metal bracelets, "We should be the ones taking her on…not the kids."

"I know. They're a brave bunch of troopers I'll give 'em that but they're gonna need our help to escape at least," Jill muttered back.

"Hey Jill…wasn't there six of them? One's missing isn't there? I only count five," Stone said. Jill looked over to the chaos on the other side of the office to find that the sergeant was right. Only five out of the six were tussling with the Red Phoenix.

"The pteranodon! Where's Petrie?" Jill then said realising who was missing. Just then, a low-pitched moaning was heard below them.

"Petrie, there you are!" Jill said glad to see him unharmed. Petrie shook his aching head and puffed himself up infuriated.

"Me gonna show her good!" Petrie growled starting to march towards her again.

"No Petrie, wait! Com'mere a sec. I have a better idea," Jill called signalling to him. Petrie did as he was told and flapped up to her.

"You have plan?" he cawed inquisitively.

"Yeah but I'll need your help," she said waving him closer.

"Okay, me listening…" Petrie hovered close enough so Jill could whisper in his ear.

"You see the crystal over there? I need you to bring it to me. If what Jason said was true then I'll need to get my hands on it to break it apart and seal off her new power."

"But…me no know if me can touch it…" Petrie said nervously.

"You can touch it, it won't affect you. Just bring it to me whilst your pals are keeping her occupied."

"Okay…"

"Go! Quickly!" Jill hissed lowly. Obeying, Petrie turned and took off towards the unguarded Heaven's Eternity Crystal.

On the other side, the Red Phoenix had her hands full repelling every attack thrown at her from every angle. Tail swipes came from one way and flying feet came from another but she managed to duck around them all as they came relentlessly at her again and again.

"Take this!" Cera shouted attempting to ram her from one side.

"No thank you," the Red Phoenix smirked blocking another tail swing from Spike before cartwheeling over her.

"Oooooooo!" Cera scowled as she slid having missed her chance. Landing a few feet further back, the Red Phoenix waved them on.

"C'mon kids…not getting tired are we?" she taunted. Following her up, the five of them charged again while Petrie, unknown to the Red Phoenix, had now reached the Heaven's Eternity Crystal. Nervously hovering next to it, Petrie looked up at the Red Phoenix but she was still busy with his friends.

"Me hope this thing friendly…" he chattered unnervingly as he slowly clamped his feet around the top golden triangle. It felt strangely warm in his clutches as he hauled it back off to Jill who was signalling for him to hurry.

"That's it Petrie…just keep coming…" she whispered to him as he inched closer.

As Petrie made his getaway with the crystal in his possession, the Red Phoenix was still knocking the rest of them back but they all bounced right back.

"Phew…I am starting to feel tired…" Ducky complained as she rolled back from being hit away after she attempted to bite the Red Phoenix's shin.

"Where is Petrie? What's he doing?" Cera whined after another ramming attack missed.

"Hmm…good question. Where is that pesky ptera…" the Red Phoenix started but she felt a cold wave travel down her body as she deflected another assault from Littlefoot and Ali.

"The crystal's been shifted," she babbled awestruck. She gazed up to look where the crystal had been before bit it had disappeared. Seeing she was no longer concentrating on the fight, the gang withheld their attacks and looked back to where the Red Phoenix was focused.

"Hey look. That shiny, yellow stone is gone," Ducky announced but Cera jumped in with a gasp.

"What the?!" What is Petrie doing with that stone thing?!" she hollered at the top of her lungs.

"What?!" Petrie?!" the Red Phoenix shrieked in horror. She then looked up and saw him heading towards Jill. Panicking, Littlefoot turned back to the Red Phoenix who was raising a head to fire on Petrie.

"Ali quick! Help me out!" Littlefoot called. Ali whirled around to Littlefoot who had his tail up high. Copying him, Ali lifted her tail up, ready to strike.

"Go!" Littlefoot ordered spinning around, sweeping his tail low. Ali followed suit a split second afterwards dropping her tail in her spin. Just as the Red Phoenix lined up her shot to snipe Petrie out of the air, Littlefoot and Ali's attack made contact with her legs wiping her clean off her feet. The shot fired off at a harmless tangent and dissolved. Hearing the commotion behind him, Petrie panicked and began to flap harder to speed up.

"Hurry Petrie!" She's spotted you! Hurry!" Jill urged.

"Me……me coming…" he panted forcing himself to fly faster.

"No you don't!" the Red Phoenix yelled springing to her feet.

"Quick! Get her!" Littlefoot shouted to everyone. The gang, shocked at first, all tried to pounce on her but she magically dashed around them leaving them all in a messy heap.

"Quick! After her!" Littlefoot yelped trying to kick Spike off him to give chase.

"Uuuugghhh…OW! You are on my tail!" Ducky squealed leaping up.

"Sorry," Ali apologized.

"She's…uuurrrgggghhh…she's getting away!" Cera shouted as she stood up but she ran headfirst into a magic barrier which bounced her back.

"You and your big mouth Cera! You couldn't have said that any louder could you!" Littlefoot scorned walking up to her. Cera threw him a dirty look but he ignored it as he watched Petrie drawing closer to Jill.

"He's giving it to Jill," Ali exclaimed.

"She is going to try to break it apart," Ducky said excitedly. The gang began to cheer Petrie on from behind the barrier as he drew level with Jill.

"Here……it is…" Petrie wheezed.

"Great job! Quick! Drop it in my hand," Jill requested. Petrie floated over to her nearest hand but shrieked as an energy ball blazed past him.

"Give that back!" the Red Phoenix bellowed firing again.

"Hurry Petrie!" Jill edged. Dodging more shots at him, Petrie dropped the Heaven's Eternity Crystal in her right hand.

"Great! Now…which stone is mine I wonder?" she mumbled to herself. As if to answer her question, the golden triangle to the left of the one she was holding flickered green.

"Ah ha! That one!" With a quick flick of her wrist, Jill threw the crystal upwards. It spun slowly as the crystal reached the peak of the throw and started to fall again. Just as it was about to reach Jill's hand again, a ball of energy suddenly struck the crystal and it bounced off the wall and tumbled away.

"Oh no!" Jill squeaked as he golden pyramid fell out of reach. She flailed her legs trying to hook it with her foot but it bounced off her foot and fell to the floor, "Damn it!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Silly little girls shouldn't play with things they don't understand," the Red Phoenix tutted waving a finger from side to side as the crystal levitated up and hovered in mid-air again.

"Damn you Phoenix! If I had my power, I'd happily kick your ass right now! You wouldn't stand a chance!" Jill screamed lividly.

"Is that so?" the Red Phoenix smirked charging a ball of energy in one hand, "Well, here's a consolation prize. I'll let you sample my power instead." With that, the Red Phoenix threw the ball of energy which hit Jill directly. She squirmed and flopped down in her shackles as the energy crackled over her body. The Red Phoenix cackled and turned to walk off but she stopped on hearing Jill laughing.

"Jill? Are you alright?" Stone asked slightly concerned.

"I'm fine Stone. Perfect actually," she replied slowly looking up, "thanks for that Phoenix. That was just what the doctor ordered."

"What are you blabbering about?" the Red Phoenix snapped indignantly.

"That energy ball was just the boost I needed to awaken my dormant power. Again, I thank you for it."

"You're lying! How? You haven't even attempted it yet! Besides, you were just trying to break the crystal like that bratty kid of mine told you to."

"Au contraire. That was just one idea I had in mind. Every good soldier knows to have a back-up plan should the first fail."

"You're still lying! I can read your power level like a book and it's no greater than that of an ant's. You can't fool me!"

"Really?" Jill then said smiling slyly. She then began to struggle and strain with her shackles. They clicked noisily and started to glow white. The gang looked on in awe as the shackled shattered allowing Jill to drop to the ground. She looked up from her crouched position at the Red Phoenix who stood open-mouthed.

"But…how?" You're power level was non-existent!" she stammered.

"How? According to the legend foretold in my dreams, I am the Summoner and protector of the Summoner's Soul Emerald. I have the ability to summon my power when I wish. It was dormant up until your little shock treatment gave me a jump start to initiate my magic flow I extracted from my stone."

"But you never touched your stone! You dropped it!"

"That doesn't mean to say I didn't touch it. My power transferred in secret as I so wished it to as I kicked it when it fell." Everyone gasped with delight, all apart from the Red Phoenix who stood with stray electricity snapping and crackling around her clenched fist.

"Bitch! You will pay for that!" the Red Phoenix spat.

"Ho ho! I am soooo gonna enjoy this…" Jill said psyching herself up. She circled her arms, feeling her magic energy flowing through every inch of her.

"Alright…let's get this over with," she said as her hands glowed with a piercing, green light and sparked lividly.


	21. Part 19: Fight and Flight

Chapter 66: The Might of Magic 

Jill and the Red Phoenix stood at opposite ends of the room staring each other down. Their hand were sparking and crackling deep radiant colours like a magical fireworks display. Sergeant Stone and the dinosaur kids watched from their prisons with baited breath, anxious and nervous to see what was going to happen. The Red Phoenix then chuckled and placed a hand on her hip as she looked Jill over.

"Who would have thought the spiritual stone of soul would have found its way to you. Another under Westwood's jurisdiction. What a fool for wishing such a dream and not knowing that practically everything he needed was right under his nose," she said smirking, "tell me this Ms. Fielding. How did you keep the spiritual stone hidden from Westwood yet managed to rise up through the ranks?"

"If you must know, it was all unintentional. It wasn't until all this happened that I started to realise," Jill said flicking her hair out of her eyes smiling, "you seemed to do a pretty good job of concealing your stone from Westwood."

"And why do you think that?"

"Considering you were the most respected scientist in the energetics department. Head of the expedition to the Andes which, surprisingly enough, I was leading the military group sent out to protect your team. Never a day went by without me hearing your name and it was never on a negative note you'll be pleased to hear."

"So…we have brushed shoulders on a number of occasions then," the Red Phoenix said smiling.

"There was however one occasion that I regretted meeting up with you…" Jill then said seriously.

"Pray tell," the Red Phoenix encouraged.

"That day…seven years ago. When we stormed your lab on the twenty-second floor. Westwood had summoned you and you refused to co-operate. Jason was with you and you grabbed him and fled. I never thought I would see the day when I would have to raise my rifle with the order to kill on sight. I almost couldn't do it but Captain Hunter would have shot me dead for failing to carry out a direct order." The gang all gasped at Jill's story.

"Jill tried to kill Jason and his mother in the past!" Ali whispered in shock. The other looked at her blankly before turning to the two of them again.

"But I heard that there was an outstandingly accurate sharpshooter within the squadron and she easily had the highest intruder neutralisation record of the entire company. I remember looking up that person's profile but I didn't recognise the name. A marksman who had an accuracy percentage of no lower than eighty-two percent during training exercises; that was in all weapon classes."

"Yep, that's right. Only one woman in the entire squad got an average that high. Wiped the floor with everyone, " Stone said astoundingly but Jill through him a dirty look and he silenced immediately.

"Impressive yes but that's what puzzles me…How can someone with such a perfect record be such a lousy shot on two targets who could have easily been mown down in a single shot each?" the Red Phoenix probed. Jill fell silent as her mind replayed the very gunfight from seven years ago.

"Well Jill?" Stone asked greatly intrigued.

"I…I…deliberately missed…I shot everywhere else except directly at you…" she sighed.

"Why?" Stone asked shocked.

"I…I just couldn't do it. Someone who I respected…I couldn't kill you…either of them," Jill replied weakly, "with everything that had happened in the world, with the viral outbreak, the death and destruction back then…I didn't want them to be another statistic…another fatality in the death toll of the human race's darkest hour."

"So you spared us to allow us to escape the complex alive?" the Red Phoenix asked again sounding slightly bewildered. Jill nodded solemnly.

"And I was hoping you would. I didn't account for director Westwood to be waiting for you," she said, "I was also hoping you'd escape for another reason."

"And what was that? You've let out everything until now so you may as well tell me…" the Red Phoenix told her still very intrigued. She seemed very sedated and peaceful as she hung on Jill's every word.

"I was hoping that, with all the chaos happening…I hoped you would be the one to brave all of it and help find a cure for the virus that plagued every living creature on the face of the Earth."

Jill lowered her eyes feeling defeated and forsaken. The gang all looked at each other and up again at Jill, all moved yet shocked by her story. Even Sergeant Stone was unable to utter a single word as he flicked between Jill and the Red Phoenix who sighed and turned her head to one side.

"Jill…despite our reputations preceding us…I…I am sorry that I could not carry out your wishes back then. If Westwood hadn't shot me and killed me that time seven years ago…I probably would have done exactly that…" the Red Phoenix said very apologetically which completely bamboozled the gang, "I honestly believe that what you said was entirely genuine…and I am grateful about you commending me on my work…" Jill looked up at the Red Phoenix and she smiled warmly.

"But, as they say……" she continued," …a dying tongue never lies…"

"What!" Jill gasped flabbergasted as the Red Phoenix's smile turned very devilish.

"What? What did she mean by that?" Cera asked the rest of the group but they all gaped as they watched the Red Phoenix suddenly fire a glowing ball directly at Jill whilst she was off-guard.

"Jill, look out!" Ali screamed fretfully. Jill threw her arms up to shield herself from the surprise attack just as it made contact. The force of the ball knocked her backwards and tossed her into the wall. Jill winced on impact as she peeled off the wall and dropped to her hands and knees gasping from breath. All the while, the Red Phoenix was cackling.

"You stupid fool! Did you really think you could win me over with your sop-story? Thought I was going to 'mend my ways and fight for the better cause'? Don't make me laugh! My path is clear-cut and I will not stray from it. And all those in the way, will be mown down in my progress leaving them to wither away."

"You soulless…" Jill choked still trying to recover her stamina as the Red Phoenix charged up again.

"Reputations can be built and remain implanted in one's thoughts but the person responsible for building that reputation in the first instance can grow, develop and leave that behind to start a new one," she babbled. Jill staggered trying to stand up but she couldn't get her knees to move. She looked up at the Red Phoenix again to see her prime her next attack.

"As you sit pinned there, I'll leave you with your last few thoughts of the destruction your power is about to cause," she said laughing sinisterly. With that, the Red Phoenix swung her hand around and launched another energy ball at her which sparked lividly. In amongst the approaching ball and the terrified cries from Littlefoot and his friends, Jill began to panic still unable to move. Suddenly, she felt her knee joints flicker warm as she pleaded with her body to shift. To her surprise, her knees gave way forcing her head up in perfect line with the glowing ball. Unable to dodge it, Jill swung a free hand at it and struck the energy ball sending it shooting off to the right-hand wall where it fizzled out feebly. Feeling her strength returning, Jill slowly stood up enraged at the Red Phoenix's last words as she stood, fairly gobsmacked, on the opposite side glaring at her.

"Enough talk…" Jill said slowly and powerfully, "it's time for you to return to the hellhole you spawned from…" The Red Phoenix sniggered placing one hand on her hip.

"Fine…I was hoping for a challenge. Let's see if our powers can match up to our reputations shall we?"

Both women eyed each other loathingly, waiting for the other to make a move. The air was a gripping phantom robbing everybody of their voices and wrapping them in an awestruck suspense. Jill's hand felt hot and itchy as she and her opponent stood like two cowboys in a showdown. The Red Phoenix twitched which instantly sparked off Jill. Almost as if someone had shouted the word "DRAW!", both of them shot a beam of light at each other which clashed in the centre of the room. Sparks and glowing stars flew off at all angles as the two beams tussled in the middle like a game of tug-o-war in reverse. Jill struggled and strained as she pushed with all her might, focusing on her beam of emerald green while the Red Phoenix's beam of sparkling silver fought back with equal measure. The gang were amazed at the bright, flickering lights that erupted from the beams. The watched engrossed as the two semi-circles of green and silver inched one way and then the other like a pendulum. The Red Phoenix was pushing harder to force her energy through Jill's but she retaliated and just knocked it back. After a tense few moments, neither Jill nor the Red Phoenix appeared to be weakening. Their energy levels were still extremely high and if it continued, they would burn each out and no one would win.

"_Damn…she's stronger than I realised…_" the Red Phoenix thought continuing to force her energy forwards, "_this is pointless. She's not going to give in…we'll be at this until we've wasted away to nothing. I've gotta do something…_"

On the opposite side, Jill was refusing to back down. She could slowly feel her endurance slipping but she could tell that the Red Phoenix was at the same stage as the stalemate between their combating powers waged on.

"I…can't…be…defeated yet…" she told herself, "I can't…allow myself…to lose to…this she-devil…" With her determination driving her on, she tried to push even harder, forcing her beam through the Red Phoenix's. All of a sudden, Jill felt something. It was a jolt, as if something had given way slightly. She was shocked to feel her beam slowly inching further and further away from her. She then heard excited yelps over the roaring of the blazing beams of light. Littlefoot and his friends were cheering as they watched Jill's green energy beam working its way closer to the Red Phoenix as she struggled to keep it back.

"Go on Jill!" Littlefoot called to her eagerly.

"Yeah! Get her Jill!" Petrie yelled taking flight to get an aerial view.

"Go Jill! Go!" Cera an Ali chanted in unison.

"YAY! She is winning! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped ecstatically.

"_I'm winning…I'm winning!_" Jill thought excitedly as she heard the Red Phoenix struggling and groaning, trying to fight back.

"Yes! I AM winning!" she then called aloud.

"Correction…you WERE winning," the Red Phoenix then hissed malevolently as Jill's green beam came as close as half a metre away from its target and then froze in its tracks. With an evil smile, the Red Phoenix then forced her energy back and it was regaining the ground it had once lost. The gang gasped in horror as they saw Jill's beam of light start to recede and shorten. Jill panicked and tried bravely to fight back but she couldn't stop it from gaining the advantage over her.

"Dammit!" she cursed as she felt her strength weakening leaving her unable to recover.

"You let your guard down! You let that one brief moment of excitement break your concentration," the Red Phoenix told her haughtily, "you're mine now!" The warring beam of clashing energy was now three-quarters of the way silver and was continuing to lengthen. Despite her valiant efforts, Jill could feel her arms starting to tremble and ache. If she didn't fight back, she'd be finished since she had no room or time to dodge the blast once her beam gave in.

"N-nn…nooo…" she strained feeling her power dwindling, "I can't…lose now…"

"The sad part for you dear is…you already have," the Red Phoenix replied flatly. With that, she gave another vigorous push to get her silver beam to pierce Jill's.

Seeing Jill beginning to buckle under the force, the gang could only watch as she dropped to one knee but still struggled to fight back any way she could.

"Oh no! Jill can't hold out much longer! We have to do something!" Ali cried anxiously.

"But what? We are still trapped behind this funny wall thingy!" Ducky complained.

"Littlefoot! Why don't you try splashing tears on it like you did with the last one?" Cera suggested.

"I tried it, it didn't work," he replied glumly.

"Me no know how she can do that," Petrie said pondering.

"Do what Petrie?" Ducky asked.

"Make that bright, flashy light and still keep glowy wall stay up too," he said.

"I do not know either but…" Ducky started but she stopped in mid-speech. She hummed curiously and then whispered something in Spike's ear. The others looked at her puzzled.

"What're you two whispering about?" Cera muttered but they both ignored her.

"What are you two up to?" Ali asked as she watched Spike back up as far as he could.

"Okay…ready Spike?" Ducky prepped; Spike's face turned serious and he nodded, "Then GO!" Pawing the ground with one foot, Spike then leapt forward and charged only to crash into the magic barrier headfirst.

"That is it Spike! Do it again!" Ducky cheered as he went back to charge again.

"Are you two crazy or something? Why are you ramming yourselves into the wall like a head-basher!" Cera asked shocked and a little embarrassed.

"Do not ask now, just help!" Ducky shouted as she shoulder-barged the wall, "Yay! Way to go Spike! We will be out in no time!" Littlefoot, Ali, Cera and Petrie all looked at each other greatly confused.

"What is she planning?" Petrie mumbled.

"I dunno…" Ali said blankly.

"I think they've lost their minds," Cera snorted indignantly.

"Well, we've got no other plan so we may as well help," Littlefoot suggested backing up to take a run at the barrier. Shrugging, the others stepped in line to assist.

Meanwhile, the Red Phoenix was cackling gleefully as she watched Jill, still barely clinging on to the battle, writhing to keep her stamina going. She was on her knees but her beam remained up and continuing the fight.

"This fight is fruitless," she sniggered at Jill, "why don't you just give up?"

"I'll never admit…defeat…to…the likes of you Phoenix!" Jill snapped exhaustedly.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?" she snarled. As she focused to finish Jill off, the Red Phoenix suddenly heard a squeaky voice holler from one corner of the room.

"_What are those troublesome tykes up to now?_" she thought trying to listen in. She was alarmed to hear Ducky shouting out that they had nearly broken through her magic prison.

"That is it guys! We are nearly free and then we can go and help Jill!" she heard Ducky call joyfully. Glancing at them quickly, the Red Phoenix saw the six of them ramming and barging the barrier which kept them imprisoned and they seemed excited about escaping.

"One more guys! One more together!" Ducky chanted, "Last one and we are out!"

"No you don't!" the Red Phoenix shouted flinging one hand around to them and firing a pink beam at the barrier as they rampaged forward like an advancing legion. The beam of light beat them to the wall and it flashed lividly re-enforcing the energy holding it up. The gang ploughed into the wall and bounced off it like beach balls, landing in six untidy heaps.

"You're not going anywhere!" the Red Phoenix snorted eyeing them all threateningly.

"You and your big beak Ducky!" Cera barked irritably, "We were nearly out but you had to shout out 'One more! Just one more!'." Ducky, not listening to Cera's mocking remarks, hopped on top of Ali, cupped her hand around her beak and shouted out to Jill.

"Quick Jill! You must do it now!"

"What!" the Red Phoenix gawked turning back to Jill who had leapt up to her feet and was glaring at her.

"Gotcha!" she whispered darkly as she forced her energy through the Red Phoenix's unfocused beam. Gasping, the Red Phoenix swung her second hand back to her silvery beam which was being obliterated by Jill's emerald green energy.

"N-no! How did!" she cried unable to hold it back. Ducky giggled with delight as Jill's attack fought back hungrily.

"YOU TRICKED ME!" the Red Phoenix yelled hotly.

"I did it! It worked!" Ducky chattered happily.

"That was your plan Ducky?" Littlefoot asked still a little lost.

"Oh yes, yes, yes! I knew that we could not break through the glowing wall, so I tricked her into thinking that we were so Jill could rest, if only for a little while," Ducky explained with a wide smile.

"I geddit! You made her magic light weaker so Jill could fight back! Great job Ducky!" Littlefoot exclaimed jovially.

"What! So we were butting our heads against that wall for nothing!" Cera barked angrily but the others glared at her making her curl up and not say a word.

"Damn you…I was manipulated…by a juvenile!" the Red Phoenix growled as she strained with Jill's attack as it gradually overpowered her.

"That's right! She played you and played you good! And I'm gonna finish it…" Jill said smiling rather sinisterly. With one last roar, Jill's entire body lit up and her beam charged forward, ploughing through the remainder of the Red Phoenix's. In a blink of an eye, the Red Phoenix had disappeared in the green stream of glittering, destructive energy which tore through the brick work leaving nothing but a gaping, sizzling hole in the wall next to the shattered stained-glass window. Panting heavily, Jill lowered her hands to marvel at her victory. The Red Phoenix was nowhere to be seen and she didn't even utter a whimper as she was vaporized by Jill's awesome magic power.

"I did it," she said slowly, wiping the pouring sweat from her damp brow, "the Red Phoenix is no more…" Jill stood up and looked over to the sound of excited chatter and melodious cheering. She smiled and made her way over to Littlefoot and the gang.

"Wow Jill! That was amazing!" Littlefoot chirped.

"Yeah Jill! You got her good!" Ali cheered merrily.

"I have Ducky to thank for that," Jill said pointing to the little saurolophus who had become extremely shy, "if Ducky hadn't tricked her into thinking you were breaking out, I would've been reduced to mere smoking embers. Thank you Ducky. That was some sharp thinking."

"It is alright Jill. I just wanted to help you. Everyone helped me as well. Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky replied with an even broader smile than normal.

"I guess I better spring you outta that lousy, pink bowl. Stand back, I'll blast ya out."

The gang all shuffled backwards to get as far away from Jill's side of the barrier as possible. Jill took a deep breath, stepped back and raised her hands to the barrier. Just as her hands started to glow, Jill suddenly winced and toppled forward landing on her hands and knees as if something had struck her in the back. All six of them jetted forward to see if she was all right but they gasped as they saw a cackling figure slowly make its way towards Jill's fallen position.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that Jill. These little darlings are still in a time-out for aggressive and inappropriate behaviour towards their superior."

"The Red Phoenix!" everyone wailed in horror.

"Right the first time!" she replied eyeing them all as she approached steadily.

"B…b-bb-but…how!" Littlefoot stammered open-mouthed.

"'Instant Translocation'. A little thing I picked up from one of my son's many classic cartoon shows. Instant teleportation from one place to another. What a neat, little trick wouldn't you agree? Who says cartoons don't teach you anything? Saved my hide," the Red Phoenix said smiling as she came to a halt over Jill who was still recovering from the energy blast to the back.

"So sorry about the shot to back while you were concentrating Jill. That was rude of me wasn't it?" the Red Phoenix drooled with sarcastic sympathy, "I'm normally all for honourable fighting but I just had to get you back for what you did to me." Jill didn't answer back but she continued to stir, hissing at the pain. The Red Phoenix crouched next to her and rested a hand on her back.

"You nearly had me Jill but…you couldn't finish the task. Such a pity…" she said pathetically, "a pity and a shame you won't get another chance." The gang gasped as they watched the Red Phoenix's hand that lay upon her back start to glow and Jill seemed to still be in pain.

"Farewell, dear lieutenant…"

"Get your hand off me…" Jill suddenly spat before whirling around and upper-cutting the Red Phoenix square in the base of her jaw. The punch connected heavily lifting her off the ground and sending her sailing backwards.

"Back off bitch!" Jill growled threateningly, standing upright. The Red Phoenix, managing to gain control of her flight, elegantly flipped her legs over and landed on her feet. She locked eyes with Jill utterly outraged and furious.

"You mangy, little cow! You'll pay for that!" the Red Phoenix hissed forebodingly wiping the blood from her split lip.

"Bring it on! I don't need magic to take you down! I may be the owner of the Summoner's Soul Emerald, but I am still a trained mercenary and I'll happily kick your arse with or without magic!"

"Fine then. This should be interesting…Come on! I'll take you on!" With that, Jill and the Red Phoenix charged at each other roaring like warriors doing battle in an open field. The gang and Sergeant Stone could only spectate as they tussled, hand-to-hand, in the middle of the office.

Chapter 67 Summoner's Showdown 

The fight between Jill and the Red Phoenix raged on. It was like watching a martial arts display as both of them attacked, countered, dodged and reversed each other's blows. Jill roared as she swung a left and a right jab at the Red Phoenix but she ducked them and delivered a low blow to Jill's gut. As she staggered backwards, Jill glanced up to see the Red Phoenix coming in for a follow-up attack. A punch and a kick flew in but Jill blocked them both and caught a second punch thrown at her. With one arm restrained, the Red Phoenix launched the other fist at Jill but she grabbed that one as well and locked her elbows out causing her to yelp in pain. Jill tightened the arm-lock as the Red Phoenix squirmed and shouted for her to let go. Unable to get her arms back, the Red Phoenix brought her left knee up catching Jill in the stomach. Jill flinched but maintained her grip and squeezed even tighter. After another knee-butt failed to hit, the Red Phoenix swung her head forward and smacked Jill right in the forehead. Dazed, Jill let go of one arm to examine her injury giving the Red Phoenix the advantage. Swinging a punch, she aimed at Jill's hanging head. Seeing the attack from out of the corner of her eye, Jill arched backwards and it flew harmlessly in front of her. Having turned the tables, Jill jumped and rolled over the Red Phoenix's back and, still holding her other arm, attempted to shoulder-throw her to the ground. The Red Phoenix flipped over wildly and hit the ground but managed get her free hand to the floor first. As Jill released her at the end of her throw, the Red Phoenix cartwheeled away on one hand. Jill instantly followed her up with a flurry of punches and kicks but as her last roundhouse kick to the head was ducked, Jill was knocked off her feet by a heavy blow to the face. The Red Phoenix had back-flipped and caught her under her chin sending Jill sprawling.

The Red Phoenix continued to flip from hands to feet like an Olympic gymnast as Jill slowly rolled up and wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth. The Red Phoenix came to a stop a good few metres back and folded her arms across her chest.

"Want more?" she asked smiling smugly.

"I'm just getting started…" Jill retorted sitting up.

"Get ready then," the Red Phoenix pre-empted beginning to crouch. Jill watched as she suddenly shot up into the air. The gang gasped from behind Jill as the Red Phoenix flow over them all. As she reached the peak of her flight, the Red Phoenix majestically performed a perfect, half-turning somersault and was now falling directly on top of Jill who remained seated on the floor under her as if to accept the crushing pounce.

"Jill! Watch out!" the gang all cried simultaneously as the Red Phoenix was about to land on her. At the last split second, Jill curled her legs up and rolled on to her back. As she sprung up from the floor and flew backwards, the Red Phoenix's deathly pounce hit the spot where she was a few hundredths of a second ago. Whipping her head around, she saw Jill charging at her from behind. Having followed up so quickly, Jill cupped her hands together and planted them firmly in the centre of her spine. The force of the jackhammer knocked the Red Phoenix to her knees but Jill wasted no time in attacking again. She brought her hefty boot up into her ribcage flicking her up and down again. The Red Phoenix writhed in pain as Jill seized her by the arm and folded it behind her back in a policeman's restraint.

"Get off!" the Red Phoenix screamed in agony as Jill tightened her hold.

"Shut your mouth or I'll break it!" Jill barked threateningly. Behind her, the gang were all cheering jovially at the Red Phoenix's apprehension.

"She got her!" Littlefoot hollered excitedly.

"Yeah! Jill won!" Petrie cawed looping in the air.

"That was amazing! I didn't know humans could do things like that!" Cera gawked with a hanging jaw.

"Yeah, it was pretty impressive wasn't it?" Ali agreed admiring the look on Cera's face.

"I bet I could do that though," Cera then blurted flatly determined not to be outdone.

"Sure you could," Ducky giggled, "like you tried to break they giant rock with your head and it bounced you back." Cera growled as the gang laughed.

"You just HAD to bring THAT up didn't you…" she moaned.

Back out in the office, the Red Phoenix was still trying to throw Jill off but she remained undisturbed by her squirming.

"Looks like you lost Phoenix. Once I free Littlefoot, Stone and the others, we'll put an end to you madness," Jill said to her smiling as she shoved her head to the ground.

"I wouldn't count on it Lieutenant Fielding," the Red Phoenix smirked, "like you said before, 'every good commanding officer has a back-up plan'." Jill twisted her face up with anger and forced her full weight on the Red Phoenix so she wouldn't escape but she continued to smile through her pain.

"Watch the pretty light now…" she grinned. Confused, Jill then saw a white light emanating from the Red Phoenix's locked hand. Without warning, the light exploded and flashed brightly. Jill yelled as her vision was reduced to a blur of colours. As she lurched backwards, she released her hold on the Red Phoenix and she hopped to her feet. Whilst Jill was blinded, the Red Phoenix grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her knee into her stomach forcing her to wince and crumple inwards. With her ducked down, the Red Phoenix clambered on top of her and stood up tall as if she were standing on a pedestal. Everyone looked on in horror as the Red Phoenix began to back somersault over her and stamp Jill to the ground. Unable to get her bearings, Jill couldn't fight back and began to collapse under each somersault. By the fourth flip, Jill could no longer stand and she fell flat on her face as the Red Phoenix gracefully arched her back, placed her hand on the ground and slowly flicked over to her feet leaving Jill flattened and battered.

"Ya like that one? Another one I picked up from my son. 'The Human Trampoline' I call it," the Red Phoenix said smugly.

"That's not fair! You cheated!" Cera shouted enraged.

"I don't remember us agreeing not to use magic. Even if we did, I would have used it anyway," she replied dismissively.

"Okay…if that's the way you wanna play…" she then heard from below her. Glancing down to the floor, the Red Phoenix saw Jill jump to her feet with a glowing, right forearm. Panic-stricken, the Red Phoenix took a quick swipe with one hand but Jill ducked it effortlessly. Tensing her glowing arm, Jill suddenly leapt into the air thrusting her fist upwards.

"SHORYUKEN!" she roared as the powerful uppercut connected. The Red Phoenix flew right up into the air and came crashing down in a heap as Jill floated down to the ground.

"I'm sure every game player in existence will know that move. One of my favourite classic games from about a century and a half ago!" Jill sniggered. The Red Phoenix did not smile as she stood up with burning eyes. Without saying a word, she threw a quick energy shot at Jill but she flicked it away. Enraged, the Red Phoenix charged forward as Jill readied herself. Punches and kicks flew in at blinding speed but Jill effortlessly dodged and blocked them all. Another punch came in but Jill jumped forwards, parrying the attack and knocked her off-balance slightly. With this opening, Jill let fly with a barrage of hits that all landed heavily. As the ninth punch made contact, Jill pulled her hand back and charged up. Her hand snapped and crackled with electricity as she shot her hand at the Red Phoenix's feet causing an explosion like she had thrown a bomb under her. The eruption launched the Red Phoenix into the air uncontrollably and Jill jumped up to meet her in the air.

"Wwwhhhoooooaaaa…Look at Jill go…" Littlefoot gasped in awe as he watched her unleash as set of supersonic strikes whilst they floated in mid-air.

"She is moving so fast I can hardly see her!" Ducky breathed thunderstruck. The gang continued to marvel at Jill's incredible speed as she spun around and kicked the Red Phoenix in the abdomen sending her sailing towards the far wall where she hit it and slid down to the floor.

Battered and bruised, the Red Phoenix coughed and rolled over trying to recover as Jill floated to the ground and strolled over.

"That…was for every creature…for every life you intended to steal in your sick plot to overthrow the planet," Jill said spitefully. The Red Phoenix didn't say anything as Jill stood over her. In desperation, she threw a weak energy ball at Jill's face to subdue her but she reflected it and it hit the wall next to her head.

"Forget it! You've lost!" Jill snapped grabbing her by her hair and yanking her up to standing. The Red Phoenix struggled as Jill slammed her, face-first, into the wall.

"This is not over Jill! Do you hear me!" the Red Phoenix spat furiously.

"For you it is…I'm going to see to it that you never succeed," Jill replied, "Stop struggling!"

"I'm sorry Jill, I just want to cut loose…" she said darkly. Jill eyed her precariously but she suddenly heard a shout from behind.

"Jill! Jill, look out!" Behind you!" Ali cried.

"Huh!" Jill mumbled in shock turning around. She was horrified to see the shards of broken glass from the window charging straight at her. With nowhere to move, Jill felt the sharp pieces plunge into her back. She screamed in pain as they entered her body but managed to hop to one side as the last few pieces hit the wall like arrows to a target. Taking advantage of her injuries, the Red Phoenix grabbed Jill by the arm and whipped her over her back launching the crippled lieutenant into a crazed spin towards the barrier where Littlefoot and the rest of the gang where held. The speed she was travelling at made Jill crash through the magic barrier and slam into the wall.

"Jill!" the gang cried running to her aid. The Red Phoenix got up and walked over to them.

"Jill! Jill! Are you all right?" Littlefoot asked nudging her with his nose. Jill coughed and strained to move as the Red Phoenix stood on the far side of the room with the Heaven's Eternity Crystal floating besides her.

"You've fought bravely until now but there shall be no more of it," the Red Phoenix said seriously, "with the combined power of mine and the Warrior's Heart Ruby, I will now end it. No more delays…"

The gang all huddled around Jill as the Red Phoenix's body began to glow. After charging up for a few seconds, she raised a hand over her head and focused her energy into a massive ball that shimmered a deep black with a red core. Everyone gasped at the size of it as it crackled noisily.

"Farewell my friends…this time, there really is not escape…" the Red Phoenix said malevolently as she threw the gigantic ball at them. The gang all screamed in fear as the ball of destructive energy flew at them and with nowhere to run, all they could do was await their fate.

Chapter 68: A Small Simple Wish 

Time seemed to slow to a standstill as the black ball continued to charge at the huddled group like a tumbling boulder. Every second seemed like an hour waiting for it to hit and finish them for good. As it rolled closer, the gang all cuddled tighter to unable to look. Jill was still too injured to move as she felt the dinosaur children dig and bury their faces into her sides. Littlefoot had his eyes clamped firmly shut as he quivered between Cera and Ali.

"_I…I can't believe…this is it…_" he thought despairingly, "_After everything we did…after all the things we went through…this is the end…_" Tears began to well in his eyes as he heard the snapping and crackling of the energy ball approaching rapidly. Suddenly, a voice shout out to him.

"No Littlefoot…this is not the end. You have to go on. It's not your time to die yet." Littlefoot snapped his eyes open in awe as the voice rang in his head.

"Wha…J-Jason!" Littlefoot gasped.

"You mustn't be beaten by her Littlefoot! You have to defeat her otherwise the planet is doomed to fall under her reign of perpetual darkness. You've got to stop her!" Jason's voice echoed.

"But how? I can't see how…"

"That ball of focused energy is mainly using my power. I was unable to prevent it because I've been banished so far into her dark realm that I can't control it anymore."

"I…I still don't understand…" Littlefoot stammered.

"The core of that ball is my power. I have no control over it but you can fight back. Use the power of your own Stone of Essence and reflect it," Jason said.

"What? I…I can't…"

"Come on Littlefoot! You must! Use your power bestowed upon you and reflect it back. Stand up, face it and throw it back!"

Littlefoot unfurled from behind Jill and looked towards the ball of energy which was still on the advance.

"Littlefoot?" Jill asked airily as she watched him slowly walk out in front of them.

"Littlefoot! What are you doing!" Ali cried being the first to roll out from her terrified little ball. One by one, they all turned to Littlefoot as he stood ahead of them like a shield as if to sacrifice himself.

"No Littlefoot! Don't!" Cera called out to him. Littlefoot then flinched at Cera's shout and suddenly lost his nerve as the towering ball came closer.

"No! I can't do it…I'm too scared…" he said to himself taking a step backwards. Suddenly, Jason's voice spoke out to him again.

"Littlefoot listen! Just concentrate…focus everything on bouncing that thing away. You can do it…"

"But Jason…I…"

"Littlefoot…the core of that ball is the same energy as yours. It will not harm you if there is no evil in your heart, but the black surrounding matter is highly unstable and will erupt if it gets through to you. Your light can smite the evil barrier around it and reflect it away." Littlefoot looked up at the ball again which was now nearly upon him.

"You can do it Littlefoot! You just have to believe in yourself. Now……BOUNCE IT BACK!"

Nervously, Littlefoot stepped forward again and stared deep into the ball focusing on the glowing, red core. The Red Phoenix stood laughing as he stood unmoving right in the ball's path.

"Willing to sacrifice yourself again Littlefoot? Go ahead! There's no saving you this time!" she cackled. Littlefoot ignored her words and continued to glare, completely entranced, at the ball. His mind quickly flashed all of his best memories and his worst fears making him very emotionally unstable. The energy ball was about to pass over him when he heard his friends scream out in his vision.

"LITTLEFOOT!" the voices echoed in unison but he quickly realised that it was his friends behind him calling his name. In response, his life ceased to flicker in front of his eyes and he found the ball directly over him. Slamming his eyes shut, Littlefoot roared terrified and his body instantly ignited in a deep, blue flame. A fierce wind erupted blowing everything away and throwing his friends flat against the back wall. The ball of energy rolled over him smothering him in a thick, black matter as his flame licked and flickered excitedly. Looking up bewildered, Littlefoot saw the deep, red core about to fall on him. Shutting his eyes again, Littlefoot stood up on his hind legs and held his front feet as high as he could. He felt a hot surface hit his feet for a brief second before a bright flash exploded before his eyes and something catapulted him backwards. Flying out of the ball, Littlefoot crashed into the wall above everyone else and slid down to the side of them. Exhausted, Littlefoot rolled onto one side and found his friends congregating over him.

"Littlefoot! Are you alright?" Ducky asked worryingly.

"Yeah…I'm okay…" he said slowly finding his feet.

"What did you do?" Ali gasped open-mouthed.

"Well…I…" Littlefoot began but he was interrupted by mad shouts at the opposite end of the room.

"No! Get back! Stay away!" the Red Phoenix shouted at her energy ball, trying to reclaim control of it but it wasn't complying. The ball slammed into the Red Phoenix and engulfed her. She screamed as the ball encased her and held her within its dark barrier. Jill, Stone and the gang all watched thunderstruck as the ball glowed a dangerous red and flickered unstably. Littlefoot then jumped as Jason's voice shouted to him.

"Littlefoot! The crystal! Do it now!" he ordered hastily, Littlefoot shot forward and headed for the Heaven's Eternity Crystal which hovered a few metres away from the ball which was flashing bizarre colours.

"N…noo!" the Red Phoenix choked from her prison as Littlefoot placed his foot on the golden triangle that flickered blue as he approached. Remembering what Jason's ghost had said before, Littlefoot closed his eyes and searched his mind for what he wanted most.

"I know what I want…but…I know what I must do…" he whispered to himself. Littlefoot, deep in thought, made his wish and he then slowly opened his eyes. A few tense moments past but nothing happened. Panicking slightly, he began to think that maybe he hadn't been sincere in his wish and perhaps it wasn't going to be granted. All of a sudden, the three triangles glowed and shimmered their respectful colours before a bright, white flash erupted before Littlefoot's eyes. As the glare slowly disintegrated from view, Littlefoot uncurled from his defensive ball and looked to where the Heaven's Eternity Crystal had been.

"What!" Littlefoot gasped, "Oh no! I destroyed it!" As he searched around for the remnants of the crystal, Littlefoot suddenly saw something fall passed his face. Surprised, he looked at the floor and found three glistening stones at his feet. One blue sapphire, a red ruby encased in a gold-framed pendent with a chain and a green emerald firmly fitted on the crest of a ring. All of them were shaped as perfect equilateral triangles.

"Nooooo!…The…the crystal…my plans!" the Red Phoenix cried as the rest of the gang hurried over with Jill. Bending down, Jill picked up her ring and placed it back on her finger.

"You're not going to harm anyone else. You are finished and you will perish here in the hell that you and your twisted director created out of greed and hatred," Jill said sternly as she scooped up the other two stones and paced them in a pouch on her waist. The Red Phoenix screamed as the ball of energy crackled and snapped and began to draw in on itself. With one final screech, the ball shrunk until it completely vanished from view.

The gang all huddled around Littlefoot and chattered excitedly.

"Wow Littlefoot! That was amazing!" Ali said smiling.

"Yeah! You great! You beated her!" Petrie congratulated perching on his head.

"You did very good! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped merrily as Spike licked his face.

"Thanks you guys but I couldn't have done it without you…" Littlefoot beamed.

"That was incredibly brave Littlefoot. You really do have an unmatched courage. Now I can see why you were destined to find the Guardian's Tear Sapphire. You stood tall and protected all of us from the Red Phoenix's evil. Well done," Jill said removing her beret respectfully. Littlefoot smiled but a blunt voice shouted down on them.

"Erm…as impressive as that show was, a little help would be appreciated if it's not too much trouble!"

"Oh! Sorry serge," Jill sniggered turning to Stone who was still hanging from the giant Red Phoenix logo. Having freed Stone, who clumsily fell onto the desk with a thud, the gang all turned to Jill.

"So what now?" Cera asked.

"I guess we should get you guys home to your folks. They must be worried sick about you," Jill said to all six of them, "come on. The Chronos Doorway is this way. Let's go."

"Erm…forgetting something?" Stone called from behind the large, oak desk massaging the base of his spine.

"Oops! Sorry again serge!" Jill chuckled walking over to him and offering a hand.

"Thanks…" Stone said as he clambered to his feet.

"Any time," Jill replied beaming. For a few moments, the two of them stared deep into each other's eyes not saying a word. They seemed spellbound by each other's presence unable to break away from each one another. Suddenly, Jill flinched on hearing a lowly grunt to her right.

"When you two are quite ready…" Cera grumbled eyeing them peculiarly. Having had their concentration shattered, Jill looked back at Sergeant Stone and then down to her hand which was firmly clasped in his. Once the thought processed for a second, Jill gasped and promptly snatched her hand out of his grasp.

"C…come on…we should get going," Jill said feeling very uncomfortable.

"Yeah…let's go," Stone agreed turning to leave.

"What's with those two?" Cera mumbled to the rest of the gang but they just giggled, "What's so funny?"

"Ohhh…nothing," Ducky hummed sweetly.

Suddenly, the room started to shake violently as if a giant was ramming the entire building. The walls and floor trembled and quaked as the eight of them struggled to remain on their feet.

"An earthshake!" Ali asked nervously. Before she got an answer, there was a deafening explosion from somewhere below them and the whole room shuddered and jolted.

"What was that!" Cera called urgently.

"The building sounds like it's collapsing! Probably the Red Phoenix's last-ditch attempt to finish us off. She's trying to take us down with her! Come on! Let's get outta here!" Jill yelled waving over to the double doors and kicking them open.

"Come on kids! Run for it!" Stone called herding them to the door. Without having to be told twice, Littlefoot and his friends sprinted for the doorway as great chunks of the ceiling began to fall to the floor from above.

Chapter 69: Run Like Hell! 

Thunder crashed and rumbled haphazardly adding to the panic and pandemonium of the gang's desperate escape down the dark corridor that connected the executive office to the rest of the cubicles. The trembling of the building continued, throwing massive chunks of the crumbling ceiling down on them like a meteor shower.

"WHOA! That was a close one!" Cera wailed as another concrete slab came crashing down beside her.

"What's going on? Why did all this start happening all of a sudden?" Ducky exclaimed as a tiny fragment bounced off Spike's head and hit her on the nose.

"The Red Phoenix's magic must have been linked to the entire building," Jill said looking over her shoulder, "that also probably explains why she could manipulate everything and throw her illusions all over the shop."

"Me geddit! Now she gone, all her magic things go too," Petrie verified banking hard to one side as more slabs dropped in his path. Littlefoot glanced back on hearing a series of deafening crashes from behind them. He gaped as he watched windows that gave a perfect view of the chaos that was now London, begin to shatter one after the other as if to chase after them.

"What in blazes!" Stone spluttered following Littlefoot's gaze, "It's like the whole place's possessed or something!"

"It's catching us up!" Ali gasped as the exploding panes of glass crept closer.

"Look! The exit's just up ahead!" Jill hollered to the group with splintering wooden frames and flying shrapnel shot dangerously close behind them.

"Faster kids! Come on! Hurry!" Stone ordered shoving them all forward. With fewer windows between the back of the line and being in the firing range, Stone knocked Spike ahead an extra few inches to distance them. Another self-destructing window erupted throwing slivers of glass everywhere catching the sergeant in the arm. Stone roared in agony and began to slow as the pain coursed through him.

"Mr. Stone!" Littlefoot called but Stone waved him on.

"Keep going Littlefoot! I'm right behind you!" he barked clutching his wound. Nodding, Littlefoot sprinted onwards, down the shaky gauntlet of raining concrete and shooting, razor-sharp shards of glass and wood.

"The next room! It's just there!" Jill announced putting on an extra burst of speed. The dark corridor shook harder as they approached the great double doors that looked worn and battered but the building's increasing shudders. Suddenly, a mighty crash rang out and the tunnel jumped like a frightened child.

"Me no like the sound of that!" Petrie hissed nervously, "Me wonder what it was?" Answering his query, the corridor rumbled and trembled even more.

"Oh no! he cawed taking a glance back," the path chasing us!"

"You what!" Cera shouted up to him as he zipped overhead.

"Oh crap! It IS in all!" Stone gasped alarmed. The corridor's floor was starting to collapse behind them leaving a deathly plummet to the pavement below.

"Erm…not meaning to cause a panic but……LEG IT!" Stone yelled at the top of his lungs, "The connecting bridge is dropping!"

"You ARE kidding right?" Jill called back but a third crash erupted in front of them. With the crash and jolt that followed it, the gigantic oak doors shuddered on their broken hinges and slowly began to creak and fall towards each other.

"The doors!" Jill wailed as they leaned into the archway threatening to block them off from the next room.

"They're gonna shut us out!" Ali squeaked helplessly, "We're not gonna make it!"

"We'll have to make it!" Jill said narrowing her eyes, "C'mon kids! Just keep going!"

Panting, everyone tried their hardest to push themselves to go faster. The gaping hole was yawning at their heels along with the sniping slivers of glass from the windows and rainstorm of concrete hail from above; all the while, the oak doors were still toppling inwards. In the closing few metres, Jill, Stone and the gang held their breath as the doors slammed into each other forming an unstable arch.

"Quick! Go" Jill screamed shooting under them first. The doors creaked and groaned threatening to slip at any moment.

"Come on guys!" Littlefoot urged as he passed through the narrowing gap. Ali, Cera and Spike (with his passenger) all cleared the doors safely and turned back to see who was left.

"Mr. Stone! Hurry!" Ducky called to him bringing up the rear.

"Daniel! Quickly!" Jill shouted. Sergeant Stone dodged the obstacles and missiles, looked up at the doors as they finally slipped and began to fall. As the rocks fell, the final window broke and the bridge closed in behind him, Sergeant Stone took a dive at the doors. The first door hit the ground just as Stone rolled underneath it and into the room. The oak doors crashed heavily on top of one another like a tomb wall sealing them in, throwing dust and dirt in their eyes.

Exhausted, everyone flopped to the floor gasping for air.

"That was crazy!" The human world is worse than living out in the Mysterious Beyond!" Cera muttered breathlessly.

"It wasn't always like this…" Stone said flinching as he yanked the splinter of glass out of his bicep and throwing the bloody shard on the floor.

"The Red Phoenix must be completely wired to the whole building. We can't rest for too long," Jill said standing up. No sooner had she spoken, the room, filled with office cubicles, began to shake and a sickening cracking noise flooded into the earshot.

"What that sound?" Petrie squawked.

"It sounds like something's breaking…" Ali said listening closely to the splitting sound as it got louder. Glancing around for the source, Littlefoot suddenly felt something worm its way under his foot. Bewildered, he lifted his foot and saw a thick, zigzagging crack slither along the marble floor and across the room towards the wall. Still a little perplexed, he followed the path up to where it looked like it was heading and about halfway up the approaching wall was the start of another one etched into it. Littlefoot traced the length of the snaking crack all the way along the ceiling, down the opposite wall and along the floor in front of him. Then, it struck him.

"Uh oh!" Littlefoot breathed unnervingly watching the crack travel up the wall and join up with its origin.

"'Uh oh' what? I don't like the sound of that Littlefoot…" Jill told him a little disturbed. Littlefoot turned to her but didn't have to speak when the room began to tremble and shake. Pebbles from the cracked ceiling rained down on them like hailstones.

"What is happening!" Ducky cried folding her arms over her head to shield herself from the falling rocks.

"It feels like another earthshake!" Cera wailed.

"Hey! I'm slipping!" Ali announced alarmed.

"Yeah…me too!" Littlefoot added finding it increasingly difficult to remain in the same place without having to adjust himself.

"Feels like we're falling backwards," Stone said stumbling slightly. The room gave a horrible jerk and dropped forcing everyone to let out a frightened yelp.

"What was that!" Cera shrieked anxiously getting to her feet again. Before she could get a reply, the entire room seemed to roll backwards throwing them against the wall.

"Everything it tipping back!" Ducky squeaked horrified as she popped out from between the wall and Spike.

"What the hell is going on?" Jill said as she leant up against the oak doors rubbing the base of her spine. All of a sudden, the room lurched again and Jill felt her support suddenly give way. Tumbling backwards, the oak doors slipped down and out of the great archway which had now become a gaping hole leading down to the pavement below. Following suit, Jill rolled back towards the archway.

"Jill!" Stone yelped watching the lieutenant fly out over the edge in a mad somersault. Jill, kicked out of her roll and, discovering that there was no solid ground beneath her, screamed fearfully. The gang gasped as the sergeant dove to grab Jill's floundering hand that was desperately trying to find something to grip onto. Pulling her in, Stone gripped tighter as Jill swung down and collided with the outside wall.

"Hang on Jill!" Stone groaned clasping his second hand on her wrist.

"Not that I've got anything else planned!" Jill yelled up to him.

"Stop kidding around!" Stone snapped irritably trying to haul her up but the tremors were worsening. Then, one of the group let out a fearful scream.

"Whoa! Look out!" Littlefoot cried from behind. Glancing over his shoulder, Stone saw the office cubicles at the far end sliding towards them. The gang screeched panic-stricken as they awkwardly ducked and dove through doorways and over furniture. Stone turned back to Jill to yank her up as quickly as possible. Jill flopped her top half back into the room and sighed breathlessly. She stared up at the sergeant who beamed down on her instantly understanding the look of thankfulness on her face. Pushing herself up to her waist, Jill looked past Sergeant Stone and gasped in horror. Following her gaze, Stone saw a number of cubicles heading directly for them.

"Jill! Stone! Watch out!" Ali cried. Hopping back up into the office, Jill and Stone stared at the slipping cubicles as they approached rapidly. With nowhere to run, the two of them ducked down as the massive structures slid into them. The gang watched in terror as they ran right over them and out of the open archway down to the streets below.

"Jill…Stone…nooo…" Littlefoot sighed.

The express train of wood finally passed and tumbled away. To their amazement, once the last cubicle toppled out of the gaping hole, the group found both Stone and Jill huddled together like two frightened infants tucked in a tight ball.

"Jill! Stone! You're all right!" Ali chirped merrily. Jill and Stone slowly unfurled from each other and looked up nervously.

"Oh my God! We survived!" Stone cried flabbergasted.

"They…they passed right over us…it's a miracle!" Jill yelped overjoyed but she suddenly felt something on her hips. Looking down, she was alarmed to see the young sergeant's hands wrapped around them. She was even more shocked to see that her hands were in exactly the same place on Stone's waist. Jill looked up sharply at Stone who appeared just as amazed as she was. The sound of giggling emanated from the gang and Jill felt something click in her head forcing her to snatch her hands away from Stone. Bewildered, Stone was surprised to see Jill rip his hands off her hips and jump up to standing. Still kneeling on the floor, he looked up at Jill who looked infuriated.

"Jill…I…" he began but he was promptly knocked over by a mighty slap that connected with the side of his face.

"You dirty, little…" Jill snapped hotly glaring at him, "You were trying to touch my arse weren't you!"

"N…no! I wasn't! I swear!" Stone babbled massaging his smarting cheek. Jill snorted and turned away.

"Hurry up and let's get outta here!" she barked. Stone, feeling incredibly embarrassed, slowly stood up still rubbing his face which now had a bright, red handprint on his right cheek.

"Man! She hits like a bloke! Sheessh! What a hot-head," Stone mumbled as he caught the young dinosaurs' eyes all fixed on him.

"What are you lot all gawkin' at? Get lost!" he growled miserably.

Before the mood could settle back down, the room gave another sickening jolt like a lift bouncing on its cables before they snapped. The area dropped again and a bone-grinding crunch began echoing out.

"This place is very shaky!" Ducky said sheepishly.

"Look! The floor on that side coming up!" Petrie announced pointing to the ground which was split and uneven.

"Either that or our side is falling!" Cera shrieked as the room dropped again and began to break away from the rest of the building.

"This whole section's heading for the city streets!" Jill called urgently, "Quick! Everyone to the other side!" Without needing a second instruction, everyone tried their hardest to scramble up the increasing incline.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Petrie hollered watching Jill, Spike and Ali hop the growing gap and onto steadier ground.

"Cera! Littlefoot! Mr. Stone! Quick, it about to fall!" Petrie cawed.

"You first," Cera said to Littlefoot stepping to one side. Rolling his eyes, Littlefoot put on an extra spurt of speed and leapt from the top of the crumbling edge landing awkwardly, but safely, on the other side.

"Go on Cera! Go for it! I'm right behind you!" Stone shouted to her. Cera narrowed her eyes and pumped her legs to build up speed. With one last bound, Cera leapt up and stretched out for the ground on the opposite side. Having jumped a little too hastily, she crashed, half on half off, on the ledge. Scrambling frantically to get up, Cera looked up to the gang for help but they were focused on something beyond her. They watched the piece of building falling away fearfully; with Stone still on it.

"Daniel! Come on, jump!" Jill beckoned to him desperately. Clambering to the top of the broken piece, Sergeant Stone took a great leap towards the floor but he was too far to grip the edge.

"Mr. Stone!" Ali, Ducky, Petrie and Littlefoot all wailed in unison as his outstretched hand missed the crumbling brickwork. They all gasped as the sergeant plummeted out of sight, all except Cera who, still clinging to the ledge, screamed in shock and pain.

"Oww…hey!" she winced glaring down.

Puzzled by her anger, the gang all herded cautiously to the edge. Down past Cera, grip anchored on her tail, was Sergeant Stone wavering about as the section of he building crashed to the pavement erupting in a cloud of dust.

"Phew! That was close!" Stone breathed tensely watching his feet swinging in the roaring wind that whistled around them.

"Hey…OUCH! That hurts!" Cera yelled as Stone attempted to clamber up, "Get offa my tail!"

"Sorry Cera…I…" Stone apologized but the wind cut him in mid-speech. It roared stridently and whipped around them like a rope trying to bind them up.

"H-hey! Quit…squirming down there!" Cera moaned, "I'm…I'm losing my grip…"

"I can't help it…the wind's so strong, it's pushing me," Stone argued.

"C'mon Cera! Get up! Let's go!" Littlefoot told her.

"I can't! He's…too heavy…" she complained.

"Quick, let's help them up," Ali said taking one of Cera's forelegs in her mouth. The rest of the gang promptly copied her. The winds howled and became more blustery as they began hauling her up and Stone was finding it increasingly difficult to prevent himself from swaying in the breeze like a limp, palm-tree leaf. Cera could feel her hind-quarters being dragged down despite everyone's brave efforts to pull her up.

"Yeeoww! You're gonna pull my tail off! Knock it off!" Cera squealed wiggling her tail to revive the feeling in it.

"Hey! You knock it off! You trying to shake me off or something!" Stone barked. The momentum of his swings were gradually building all the while.

"I can't…hold on…" Cera strained battling with Stone on her back end.

"We've got you Cera! You're nearly up," Ali mumbled still with her mouth firmly clamped on Cera's leg. The winds bawled menacingly around the open face of the building tugging at Sergeant Stone like a spiteful spirit edging for him to fall. Everyone above him were inching Cera up, trying with all their might to counteract Stone's swinging.

"Almost…there…" Littlefoot strained digging his heels in deep. Cera, still struggling with Stone on her tail, hooked her top half up onto the ledge. Suddenly, a booming thunderclap cracked aloud over them all. Stone felt Cera's tail give a horrible twitch as she screamed at the lightning flash. With the wind pounding against him, he reinforced his grip as much as he could with his icy fingers. He could feel the muscles in Cera's tail tensing as she wailed and his eyes widened on her tail lifting sharply.

"No Cera! Don't!" he shouted fearfully beating backwards with her movement. Reaching a peak, Cera then, instinctively, snapped her tail back in pulling the sergeant with it. Unable to keep up with the sharp flick, Stone felt his hands slip off her tail and he screamed as he was propelled forward. With her additional load suddenly lifted and the force of the gang pulling her up, Cera flew up and into the room forcing everyone to tumble backwards.

Grumbles and groans sounded as everyone regained their senses and untangled from one another. Cera, who had collided head first with one of the fallen cubicles, stumbled over and shook the stars from in front of her eyes.

"Whew! Thanks guys," she sighed once her vision came back into focus.

"Where's Stone!" Jill called anxiously but no one answered her. Gasping fretfully, Jill sprinted to the edge and peered over but she saw nothing but the demolished section of building that had fallen away from the main structure. Jill dropped her eyes and punched the ground in a rage. The gang watched her warily as Jill rose to her feet and walked over to them. Ali cautiously stepped up to meet her half-way.

"Jill?" she asked uncomfortably, "Are you…" Before she could finish her question, Jill roared and swung a punch dangerously close to Ali's face. Ali lurched back as Jill's attack passed in front of her nose and slammed into a panel on unbroken glass in one of the cubicles shattering it. Littlefoot and the others gasped and Ali hopped back nervously. Jill slowly lowered her hand, still clenched in a fist and turned towards them.

"I'm fine…" she mumbled bitterly. No one said a word as she marched towards the door without even glancing at them. They all shuffled away from her uncertain how she would react as Jill stared at the door.

"We've wasted enough time…let's go!" she barked kicking the door open and disappearing down the staircase.

Ali strolled up to the rest of the gang who all exchanged woeful looks. In silence, one by one, they filed out of the room. As Spike followed Cera out, Ali pulled up alongside Littlefoot's stationary position and looked at him with large, sorrowful eyes. They looked back to where Jill had been standing and traced a flickered trail of blood drips right up to the exit. Both longnecks took another mournful look at each other before soundlessly heading for the door.

Chapter 70: Short Circuit 

The labyrinth of marble corridors that lay ahead of Jill, Littlefoot and his friends twisted and turned before them as they reached the bottom of the long flight of stairs that led from the executive offices. Having lost Sergeant Stone, no one said a word as they pulled up to a T-junction at the end of the stairway. The gang all looked left, the right, and then at each other but reading the perplexed expressions on every other face, none of them had the slightest idea where to go.

"Ugh…great! Which way now? All these tunnels look identical," Cera whined.

"I don't know. They all look the same to me," Littlefoot said blankly.

"This way," Jill bellowed minimally turning to the left.

"How'd you know?" Ali asked innocently.

"I used to work here don't forget. We need to get to the Energetics department and activate the main console for the Chronos Doorway so you kids can get home and I can accomplish my mission," Jill said flatly not stopping to face them. An uneasy silence lingered in the air in response to Jill's emotionless words. It seemed as though she had instantly flicked back into "soldier" mode and her human side had completely disintegrated. Jill stopped still when she realised that none of the other had moved from their static positions.

"Well? What the hell are the lot of you waiting for; death on swift wings! Coz I can assure you if you stand here for long enough I'm sure it will find you!" Jill snapped cold-heartedly as she turned to face them, "So you wanna get back to your families or not?" Littlefoot was the first to take an uncertain step forward but once he had, the rest of the gang slowly followed suit.

For the first few minutes, the gang soundlessly trailed behind Jill as she marched on ahead without so much as a glance over her shoulder. After a while, Ali quickened her pace and pulled up alongside Jill who had failed to notice her with her head rusted and locked on the path ahead.

"Erm…Jill?" she asked slightly nervously.

"What? What's the problem now?" Jill barked. Nervous but determined not to be thrown off, Ali looked up to try and catch Jill's eye.

"Are…are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I told you before. Why?"

"Erm…well. You just don't seem yourself, that's all."

"Everything's fine Ali. Let's just get to the Doorway so I can sort you lot out." Ali shied away knowing that she wasn't going to get eye contact or a constructive answer from the lieutenant whose head was high and vision unbroken.

"I'm…I'm sorry about Mr. Stone…" Ali then said looking back up at her.

"Me too…" Jill said sharply and dismissively, "but hey! Who gives a damn! No one cares about what lives are robbed in this greedy game of command and conquer. Stone was just one person of many who had to suffer the consequences of the actions of selfish prats like Westwood and the Red Phoenix."

"…Jill…" Ali gasped in dismay.

"Who gives a crap! Stone knew what he was letting himself in for. It's his own damn fault he didn't make it! He knew the dangers! He knew that death was waiting around every corner we turned yet still he accepted the mission. His decision…his problem…his fault! Who cares!" Jill erupted.

"You do…" Ali replied softly. Jill suddenly fell silent and gazed at her amazed yet perplexed.

"Wh-what?" she stammered breathlessly.

"You care about Mr. Stone. I could see it; everyone could see it. The way you look at each other and the way you always look out for each other. It isn't hard to see that you two DO care about one another," Ali explained. Jill was speechless. She wanted to argue her point but nothing sprang to mind. Ali had caught her completely off-guard and was staring at her with a hypnotising gaze that was impossible to resist.

"You…you don't know what you're saying!" Jill said finally turning away, "You're just a kid so how would you know?"

"I maybe a kid, but I know love when I see it," Ali said potently.

"Tsk! Whatever! Let's just get the hell out of here!" Jill said dismissively. Ali stopped and watched her march onwards. The gang were quick to pull parallel with her eager to know what had just happened, but Ali just solemnly shook her head.

After a few more minutes of walking down the brightly lit corridors, the group came to a stop in front of a silvery metal door that blocked the entire way.

"Oh great! A dead end," Cera sighed irritably. Jill, still slightly ahead of the pack, looked to her right and walked over to a small console on the wall which looked no bigger than a calculator with a plastic, hinged lid covering three-quarters of it leaving the remaining quarter for a screen. Looking at the tiny computer screen, she cleared her throat and said,

"Lieutenant Jill Fielding; Red Phoenix Incident Response Squadron. Level five security. Code: 2417. Command: Open fire shutters." The tiny console remained unresponsive as the gang all huddled around Jill in a wide semi-circle. Having still not received a reply from the console, Jill tried again with more depth to her voice.

"Lieutenant Jill Fielding; Red Phoenix Incident Response Squadron. Level five security. Code: 2417. Command: Open fire shutters!" The console hung silently on the wall like a disobedient child refusing to do as it was told. Losing her temper, Jill flicked open the covering panel below the screen and began typing in her code on the keypad.

"Stupid piece of crap! Damn database must be out of order," she muttered. As she pushed the final key, she stood back to await a response. To her frustration, the console buzzed defiantly and a message flashed on the screen.

"What! What do you mean 'ERROR'!" Jill yelled. The gang hopped backwards in fright as she viciously hammered the code into the console again. With the same, mocking buzzing sound, the screen flickered the same error message. Infuriated, Jill roared and, whipping her Laser Blade from off her belt, she plunged the butt of the handle into the unco-operative machine which sparked and crackled feebly before dying out. Flames of rage continued to burn fiercely as Jill turned to the fire shutter and flicked the energy blade on. With her weapon primed, Jill began slashing violently at the shutter door as it stood blocking the way. Littlefoot and the others backed away from Jill suddenly feeling incredibly fearful of her as she swung wildly with the Laser Blade that snapped on the metal of the door but left mere scorch marks on its polished surface.

"Dammit! Damn them all! All of them!" Jill hollered uncontrollably unable to stop. The battery on the Laser Blade began to dwindle and the weak, pale red energy of the weapon flickered unhealthily. After one last anger-ridden swipe, the blade fizzled and disappeared. Jill looked at the handle in her hand and thumped it against the metal fire shutter repeatedly trying to break through but the door merely clanked and echoed down the claustrophobic corridors. Hitting the door time and time again, Jill finally came to a rest pressed up against the cold, metallic surface and slid down to her hands and knees exhausted and defeated.

The six dinosaurs all looked on Jill pitifully feeling her frustration. Littlefoot broke away from the woeful bunch and stood next to Jill.

"Jill…are you all right?" he asked craning his neck down to try and catch her eye.

"I…I'm sorry Littlefoot," Jill said weakly, "I failed. I failed to protect Stone…I failed my mission…and I failed to get you all home to your parents. I'm so sorry but…there's nothing more I can do."

"Don't say that Jill. You didn't fail," Ali said walking alongside Littlefoot.

"No…I did. I said I'd get you back. I swore that once this was over and the Red Phoenix was history, I'd return you back to your own time. But I couldn't do it."

"At least you tried," Ducky said sweetly.

"But that's not good enough. Too many casualties have been inflicted on account of all this and now, right at the very end of all we've managed to overcome, we're gonna be victims of it too." Littlefoot walked around in front of Jill's position as she balanced on her hands and knees and poked his face under her hanging head.

"Jill…you mustn't give up hope," he said blissfully. Jill slowly looked up at him with a downfallen expression, "That's what Grandma and Grandpa always say to me when I feel like all is lost. They tell me to never lose hope and that there is always a way out of trouble."

"But…but Littlefoot…" Jill stuttered.

"Littlefoot's right Jill. You can't give up now," Cera agreed.

"Oh no, no, no! We have come this far," Ducky added.

"It no your fault what happen happen, but that behind us now. We must look for new way if first way no work," Petrie cawed landing next to her. Jill rolled back and sat on her heels slightly bemused by the wise and courageous words of the dinosaur kids.

"I…I don't know what to say. You guys have so much faith in us escaping…it's unreal…" she gasped.

"Well, you did tell us that if we came with you that it would be very dangerous and that we may never see our parents again, but we came along anyway. We decided on our own, that we were going to help you," Ali said nobly and the others promptly agreed wholeheartedly. Jill gaped at them open-mouthed unable to speak a word.

"We are sorry that Mr. Stone is gone; we lost Jason too. Even though we beat the Red Phoenix, it would all be for nothing if we didn't make it," Littlefoot said valiantly. With that, Jill stood up and looked at each of them in turn.

"You're right. We can't allow Jason and Stone's deaths be in vain. This mission isn't over yet and it won't be until we escape from this place," Jill said smiling which quickly spread to the faces of the others, "right then. We've still got to get to the Energetics department but we can't get through the fire shutters."

"So what then? Is there another way?" Ducky asked.

Suddenly, the fluorescent lights flickered and died plunging the morale-boosted group into darkness.

"Ahhh! What happened!" Ali yelped in fear.

"Power's out. The back-up generators must have finally burned out," Jill suggested. No sooner had she spoken, the lights flickered back on and a heavy cranking sound of metal gears rang out.

"What's happening?" Littlefoot asked nervously.

"Look! The shiny blocker is moving!" Ducky exclaimed pointing at the hefty steel door which was slowly edging upwards.

"It's opening now but what made it work?" Cera asked slightly bewildered.

"The building's control mainframe must have crashed and restarted. All security locks are released upon a major system reboot but…what would have caused it?" Jill puzzled, "Oh well, they're open now so let's go." Taking the lead, Jill started to press on as the door once was high enough to pass under and the dinosaurs were close behind. As she walked under the huge shutter, a loud click sounded followed by the snapping of gears freewheeling. Ducky gasped in horror.

"Jill! Look out!" she wailed urgently. Jill whirled around to look at her and traced her gaze up to the ceiling. She gasped terrified as she saw the fire shutter dropping down on her. Stunned, Jill leapt forward just as the shutter slammed to the ground.

"Whew! That was a little too close!" Jill sighed wiping her forehead.

"You nearly go squished!" Petrie yapped awestruck as the lights began to flash on and off randomly like a disco.

"What in the world is going on!" Ali gawked in confusion.

"In light of what we've had to escape earlier, I'd say this is more of the Red Phoenix's doing. Her magic, integrated with the building, must have corrupted the supercomputer that runs the place. The electrics are going AWOL!" Jill proclaimed as the fire door suddenly clicked into life and shot up and then back down repeatedly.

"What do we do now?" Ducky asked.

"We have to go on. Down the corridor to Energetics and the Chronos Doorway," Jill replied blandly.

"What? Through that big, shiny, crushing thing! Are you crazy?" Cera bellowed outraged. Jill nodded but Cera took a defiant step backwards.

"Nuh uh! There's no way you're getting to pass under that!"

"There's no other way Cera. Energetics is on the South Wing and this is the quickest way," Jill said.

"But by no means the SAFEST! I'm not going!" she snapped back.

"Cera! This is no time to…" Littlefoot started but his voice became lodged in his throat as a low, groaning slowly emanated fro the far end of the corridor making them all cringe.

"Tell me that was someone's stomach," Jill said warily eyeing the group but they all silently replied with large, fearful eyes and nervous head shakes. The moaning grew louder and echoed down the strobe-lit halls. At the far end, Jill saw flickering shadows of erratic arms and hands on the wall accompanied by the sound of shuffling feet.

"Uh oh…we've got some unexpected guests heading our way," Jill warned watching outstretched arms starting to appear from around the corner.

"Ahhhhhh! Monsters!" Ali screamed as a hoard of zombies trudged and twitched their way down the corridor.

"Quick! Run for it!" Jill shouted turning to face the approaching fleet," Go on! Under the shutter! GO!"

"But what about you!" Littlefoot called rather concerned about what Jill was planning to do.

"I'm gonna distract 'em! But you some time to escape!" Jill announced, "Don't worry! I'm not planning to die just yet…I'll be right behind you! Get on the other side and I'll follow. Now…GO!"

With that, Jill tool off towards the advancing zombies leaving the gang dumbstruck and panic-stricken.

"What we do now?" Petrie squawked.

"Let's do as Jill said. We have to get passed this shutter thing," Littlefoot said but Cera quickly hopped back a few feet.

"Ooooooohhh no! You're not getting me to do it!" she barked ignorantly.

"But Cera!" Ducky protested.

"But nothing! There is nothing in the world that's gonna make me change my mind!" she snorted. Just then, Cera felt something hit her back leg. Turning around, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a decaying, deathly-looking severed head that had rolled from the far end of the hall. Shrieking with terror, Cera blindly shot off in the opposite direction. She didn't care where she was running but she just wanted to get as far away from the sickly head as possible. She came to a panicked, skidding halt and breathlessly turned to face the others. To her amazement, she saw the slamming, steel fire shutter springing up and down in front of her with the rest of the gang on the other side. The gang all looked at Cera's horrified mien and then at each other.

"What was that about?" Littlefoot asked airily.

"Wonder what scare her?" Petrie cawed. Suddenly, a low groaning came from behind them that send a shiver up their spines. Whipping around, the gang looked to the ground and saw the same hideous head glaring at them. All five of them screamed, pawed the polished floor to turn and sped off under the dropping shutter before sliding to a stop on the other side. Panting and shaken, the gang all exchanged glances before looking back to the head that lay on the floor but nothing was left but a pile of black ash which evaporated into the air.

"Phew! Well…that was easy…" Littlefoot sighed dismissively but the gang all threw him dirty gazes, "What! What'd I say?"

Up at the opposite end of the corridor, Jill was battling furiously with the onslaught of undead humans. One attempted to pounce on her back but Jill quickly elbowed it in the face knocking it off-balance and swiftly followed-up with a high, whirlwind kick which swiped the foul creature's head clean off its body. Smiling at her defeated enemy, Jill was grabbed on both shoulders by two more zombies as another in front attempted to sink its teeth into her neck. Jill promptly wrapped her arms around the heads of her undead restraints, jumped and tucked her legs up. Rolling over, her feet slammed forcefully into the lunging creature's face knocking it backwards into the rest of the advancing zombies bowling them over. Somersaulting to her feet, Jill smirked at her former captors and took the back of their heads as they clumsily turned to her. With a sharp pull, Jill rammed them full-force into each other cracking their skulls in a sickening cloud of bone and decaying flesh.

"Yuck! A messy business this," Jill muttered watching the decapitated bodies disintegrate into black dust and evaporate into thin air. She flicked the sick, coagulated blood from her gloves and looked up at the remaining lumbering undead heading towards her.

"Jeez! There's no end to this things!" she sighed as more of them trudged around the corner. Kicking and thumping one zombie after another dispatching them, Jill was surprised to hear a new sound echo down the hall. Peculiarly, it sounded like metal being dragged along the hard ground. Having twisted another creature's head from off its shoulders, Jill swivelled around just in time to see a shimmer of a fire axe slash dangerously close to her head. Dodging to one side, Jill watched a manky looking human dressed in a scientist's lab coat swinging the axe at her madly.

"Whoa! This one's gotta toy!" she yelped dodging an overhead swing that ploughed through another zombie's cranium having missed its primary target. As the axe-wielding zombie continued its frantic swiping, cutting down several others in the process, it took a horizontal swing at Jill's head as she threw another zombie hanging on her back. Catching a glimmer of the axe flying straight for her, Jill dropped to the floor allowing the weapon to dig into the marble-tiled wall. With the axe firmly planted in the wall, Jill hopped up to standing and eyed the zombie scientist peculiarly as it attempted to free its weapon from its vertical pedestal. With a little, cocky smirk, she side-kicked the struggling monster in the stomach sending it reeling backwards. Turning to the now unmanned fire axe, Jill promptly removed the amputated limbs still holding onto the handle and pulled it loose.

"Ahh, this will come in handy!" Jill beamed spinning the axe over her arm a few times before clasping it firmly in two hands. Now armed, Jill turned to face the remaining few of the undead legion in front of her.

In a matter of moments, Jill hacked and sliced through her death-ridden adversaries and they all crumpled into piles of blackened ash before disappearing completely.

"Hah! That was easy," she smiled twirling the axe in her hand like a baton," better get back to Littlefoot and the others; they'll be waiting on me." Jill turned to head off in the opposite direction when she suddenly heard a set of shuffling footsteps approaching from around the corner.

"Humph! Sounds like a late-comer," she grinned turning back to face the approaching zombie, "Oh well…just one more. I'll make this quick." As the zombie made its way to turn the corner, there was sudden, low, hissing swiftly followed by an airy slash and the sickening sound of ripping flesh. Just as the zombie was due to appear around the bend, it suddenly fell to its knees and laid mangled on the floor with a great bloody set of slash marks across its back. Slightly confused, Jill eyed the twitching corpse as it was slowly dragged back out of view. Jill stealthily crept towards the corner but as she came within four feet of the bend, the decimated body of the zombie shot out and collided with the right-hand wall. Jill leapt back alarmed as the headless carcass slid down the dirty tiles and onto the floor leaving a trail of viscous blood on the wall.

"What the hell happened to him?" Jill thought watching the body pixelate into black ash. The hall then echoed with a low, blood-chilling hiss as a long, human-looking, gecko-like creature clambered its way into view. Jill gasped as the repulsive creature's tongue licked its hanging jaws.

"_Oh God! Not one of these acid-spitting tree frogs again,_" Jill thought panic-stricken but she quickly recomposed herself, "_I know how to handle this freak!_" Picking up a broken piece of tile, Jill slowly and carefully threw it behind the beast making it clatter noisily n the walls and floor. To her amazement, the freakish human-looking lizard glanced to where the piece had fallen but didn't move.

"Hmm…odd. It's didn't go for it," Jill mumbled to herself, "I'll try again." So she did. Carefully taking another shard, Jill threw it hard against the back wall making it crash loudly on the marble surfaces but again, the monster failed to respond to it.

"_What the?_" Jill thought perplexed and frustrated, "_Why'd it not attack the source of he noise? Is this thing deaf?_" Jill then gasped as she saw two large, beady eyes open on either side of its head quickly followed by another pair of beady eyes on the front of its sun-scorched red head.

"Oh crap! This thing can SEE!" Jill squeaked. The beast roared deafeningly forcing Jill to take flight.

On the other side of the malfunctioning fire shutter, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Ali, Ducky and Spike glared edgily through the slamming door at Jill sprinting towards them closely followed by the creepy lizard.

"Oh no! It's another one of those long-tongued things!" Littlefoot announced forebodingly.

"I think we can all see that Littlefoot," Cera muttered.

"It's catching her up!" Ali cried.

"Come on Jill! Hurry!" Ducky chanted flapping madly. Jill glanced back at the monster as it clambered up the wall and along the ceiling gouging great clumps of concrete out of the walls and destroying the lights in its frantic scramble as they approached the metal shutter. The creature lashed out with its frog-like tongue with lightening speed striking Jill in the back. She stumbled but managed to keep on her feet but being forced to slow down to recover, Jill hopped to one side as the beast dropped from the ceiling and tried to pounce on her. Colliding heavily against the wall, Jill ducked as the creature slashed at her head quickly followed by a low sweep to her ankles. With a swift leap, Jill stood the flat head of the axe on the creature's back and vaulted over it. The beast roared and gave chase once it rediscovered Jill's location.

The gang cheered and hollered as Jill drew closer to the shutter. She eyed it cautiously as it flew open and quickly slammed shut like an ancient tomb door.

"Gotta get under that door…gotta time this right…" Jill mumbled to herself as her pursuer bounded close behind like a rabid mongrel. She watched the door slam shut as she approached. It then clicked and began to fly up and open.

"NOW!" she cried kicking off to speed towards the door but it only got half-way up when suddenly, the gears stopped and the fire shutter began to drop.

"No!" Jill snapped determined not to get shut out. Winding up, she threw the axe at the base of the door where it stuck, blade down, into the floor. The shutter clanged deafeningly on the axe as it dropped onto it and became stuck fast. With her doorstop firmly in place, and the beast hot on her heels, Jill fell to the ground ad slid under the shutter. As she passed underneath, Jill snatched onto the axe in her slide and yanked it from under the door. With the monster directly on her tail, the fire shutter dropped its final few inches to the ground pinning the hideous creation. Scrambling to her feet, Jill immediately swung the axe into the exposed gear panel on the left-hand side of the door destroying the mechanism. The beast squealed in pain as it writhed under its massive restraint.

"Whew! That was a little too close for comfort…" Jill wheezed sliding down the cold wall to a bumpy seat on the floor. She looked at the gang who all crowded around her beaming excitedly.

"Wow! That was a nice move," Ali congratulated merrily.

"Necessity is the mother of all invention," Jill replied gleaming back.

"What now?" Cera babbled confused eyeing Ducky who merely shrugged in reply. As Jill was about to explain their course of action, Ali let out a fearful scream. Turning to her, the gang gasped as they saw the monster pulling Ali towards itself with its tongue wrapped around her back leg.

"Help me!" Ali screeched unable to fight to get away. Littlefoot was about to spring to her rescue but Jill threw her arm out in front of him. He looked at her anxiously but Jill herded him back and slowly stepped forwards. With Ali still being inched in, Jill stood in front of the creature and looked down on it.

"Hmm…a real ugly mug arent'cha?" Jill snorted indignantly. The beast's black, beady eyes flicked to her and it growled lowly and threateningly as she continued to insult it.

"Pitiful to think YOU are supposed to be one of this firm's greatest achievement. Peh! I've seen frogs in the park pond more interesting that you." The beast roared and spat at her who dodged the acidic saliva allowing it to hit the wall where it bubbled and fizzed.

"Now THAT…was rude," Jill said coolly looking at the creature dangerously. Taking her axe in two hands, Jill swung it high over her head and brought it down heavily in the centre of its face. The monster screeched horribly and instantly released Ali from its grasp. As Ali clambered to safety, Jill watched the creature squeal and squirm in excruciating pain before collapsing and dying with a long hissing sigh.

"Get down and STAY down!" Jill barked finally yanking her weapon out of the creature's skull.

Once the monster was safely disposed of, the gang nervously crowded around Jill as she wiped her forehead with the back of her free hand.

"Uck…what was that thing!" Ali cringed scanning her captor with disgust.

"A bioweapon I'd say…one of the poor fools who got caught up in the Red Phoenix's twisted reality hidden from the public eye with lies and pre-planned cover stories. As long as they put on a pretty face for the media…nothing else mattered," Jill replied gravely, "so many innocent lives lost…all for petty gain and greedy ambitions."

"How horrible…" Ali sighed sorrowfully.

"Yeah. Anyway, with that dealt with, let's get to the Chronos Door…" Jill began but her voice was frozen as a faint sizzling noise sounded in the corridor.

"What that sound?" Petrie gulped picking up on it.

"Don't look at me!" Cera immediately snapped. Jill slowly turned and glanced down to the creature she had just slain. It was still there, unmoving, but the noise was strangely emanating from its corpse.

"What is it Jill?" Littlefoot asked cautiously as she knelt down beside the monster.

"I…I think the sound's coming from this thing," she replied examining it closely. The hissing gradually got louder and became a bubbling sound. Jill, analysing it further, watched the creature's sunburn-red skin as it began to bubble and blister grotesquely.

"What the hell?" Jill mumbled as the lumps forming on its epidermis continued to pop up at an increasing rate. Jill leaned in closer just as one of the blisters burst spraying a sizzling fluid on her hand which instantaneously erupted into flames. Jill jumped to her feet shaking the burning chemical off her glove.

"What in the world!" she breathed awestruck holding her hand in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Ducky asked standing beside her.

"Something's screwy with this monster," Jill slurred forebodingly rubbing her singed glove nervously.

"Whad'dya mean?" Cera asked taking a step forwards to read the bewildered expression on Jill's face. The bubbling became more furious as more blisters popped throwing combusted chemicals everywhere narrowly missing Jill, Littlefoot and the others who were spectating in awe. Suddenly, one large bubble rose from the creature's back and exploded drenching its body in the strange, colourless liquid.

"Eeewww! Disgusting!" Cera cringed.

"What happing to it?" Petrie cawed horrified.

"It looks like some sort of decomposition. The chemicals in its body are breaking down its living tissue; quite violently too," Jill guessed.

"What's that mean?" Littlefoot asked naively. Before he could get a reply, the dampened body of the monster suddenly burst into flames and crackled threateningly.

"Uh oh…it's gonna explode!" Jill shouted urgently, "Quick! Get away from it!"

Turning tail, Jill and the six dinosaurs sprinted up the corridor as the living bonfire continued to pop, crackle and hiss lividly. Within a brief few seconds of running, the monster self-destructed in a massive eruption that launched flesh and flaming acid everywhere as a large wave of fire charged down the hall after them.

"Aaaarrgggghhhh! Fire coming! FIRE COMING!" Petrie screeched in alarm.

"Everyone, GET DOWN!" Jill bellowed diving to the ground. Following her example, the rest of them dropped to the floor and Petrie plunged to the floor as the wall of fire sot over them dangerously close to their heads.

"Phew! That was a little too close," Ali sighed relieved once the danger had passed.

"Well, at least we're all okay," Littlefoot said, slowly standing upright.

"Whew! Made it," Jill breathed, "Musta been an upgraded creature to the one we first fought. A flipping living Molotov cocktail…sheesh!"

"Well, we are okay now," Ducky smiled but before her smile could spread, the corridor began to shake. The gang panicked and squealed in fear as their surroundings quivered and quaked.

"What's going on now!" Ali shrieked feeling the floor beneath her feet giving slightly.

"The ground! The ground is breaking!" Littlefoot yelled frightfully. Sure enough, the marble flooring was beginning to crack and split.

"What should we do!" Ducky squeaked clamping onto Spike's neck as he trembled fretfully with the shaky hall.

"Run for it!" Jill ordered trying to stand but she fell back to the ground as the tremors worsened.

"I can't! I can't stand up!" Littlefoot whined unable to keep his balance long enough to move.

"Me neither!" Cera wailed tumbling over a third time. The snaky cracks branched and fanned out causing the floor to drop an inch or two.

"We're gonna fall!" Ali cried anxiously as the ground began to segment and crumble.

"Brace yourselves!" Jill yelled gritting her teeth. With one last rumble, the marble paving disintegrated leaving the wailing gang to plummet down into the building followed by large chunks of rocky debris.


	22. Part 20: Wings of the Swift

Chapter 71: FireFly 

In a dark, dingy room, lying amongst the crumbled marble, six bodies were scattered partially buried in the rubble. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali all lay inanimate on the ground. Suddenly, one of them twitched from amongst the mound of marble and concrete. Slowly, Ali opened her eyes wearily and gingerly rose to her feet.

"Uuuurrrggghhh," she groaned shaking her head. The daze slowly lifted and Ali turned to see the rest of the gang half-submerged in the rocky debris.

"Oh my!" she gasped. She turned to see Littlefoot lying next to her.

"Littlefoot! Are you okay!" she called to him but he didn't reply. Hurryingly, Ali began pawing the great chunks of rock aside and searched Littlefoot for any signs of life.

"Littlefoot?" she whispered becoming fearful he wouldn't answer. She was relieved to then see the young longneck's torso rising and falling steadily.

"He's breathing," Ali beamed beginning to nudge his neck softly, "Littlefoot…? Littlefoot, please wake up." After a few more gentle taps, Littlefoot began to stir and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Mmm…? A-Ali? Is that you?" he mumbled giddily.

"Yeah, it's me. Thank goodness you're all right," Ali confirmed happily.

"What happened? Where are we?" Littlefoot asked as his bearings slowly righted.

"We fell from up there. Looks like quite a way; we're lucky to have survived," Ali replied staring up into the gaping hole in the ceiling directly above them. From the extent of the damage to the building, they had fallen through several floors.

"Whoa! That looks like a long way," Littlefoot gasped glancing up but he immediately began searching the room as something leapt to mind, "Oh no! Where are the others? Are they all right!"

"They're all over there," Ali signalled. Turning back to the mountain of rubble, Littlefoot gasped horrified at the sight of his friends laying amongst the great pile.

"Do you think they're…?" Ali started but Littlefoot wandered over to Cera and knocked her softly. He sighed delightfully when he heard Cera groan and watch her stir.

"No, they're okay," Littlefoot reported moving on to Spike, "you wake up Petrie."

The group slowly recovered their senses and were soon back on their feet.

"How's everyone feeling?" Littlefoot asked affably.

"Littlefoot! We just fell through the floor and got crushed by rocks! Not to mention nearly getting burned alive! How do you THINK we feel!" Cera muttered shaking off her dizziness.

"I meant 'is everyone all right?'" Littlefoot promptly rephrased rolling his eyes.

"Me okay. Head hurt a bit though," Petrie reported holding his head in his hands.

"Me and Spike are all right. My hand was under a big rock so it hurts a little," Ducky announced cupping her limp wrist.

"Well, everyone's okay at least," Littlefoot smiled as Spike gave a verifying nod to say all was well.

"Wait a second. Where Jill?" Petrie suddenly squawked.

"Oh no! We forgot about her!" Littlefoot exclaimed thunderstruck.

"Whad'dya mean 'we'? You are the one who forgot!" Cera barked indignantly.

"Cera! This is no time to be fooling around! Jill's gone!" he snapped unamused.

"But she fell down with us. Where could she have gone?" Ali asked blankly.

"I dunno…could she be under all this rock?" Littlefoot suggested stepping off the marble mound.

"If she was, she would have been crushed under it all!" Ducky wailed fretfully.

"There's only one way to find out," Cera bellowed snorting and pawing the ground. With a growl and a full-throttled charge headfirst into the pile of crumbled rockery, Cera began tunnelling through the wreckage.

"Good idea. Everyone, start digging!" Littlefoot said. Within minutes, the gang had sifted through the entire pile but Jill was nowhere to be seen.

"She is not here," Ducky sighed defeated and breathlessly.

"But where could she have gone?" Ali whined helplessly.

"I don't know but we're stuck here if we can't find her. Jill is the only one who knows how to use that funny Doorway thingy," Littlefoot said a little downfallen, "we have to find her."

"But she could be anywhere!" Cera argued, "This isn't like the Mysterious Beyond Littlefoot, this is the human world."

"Cera right Littlefoot," Petrie agreed, "we no know what dangerous here and what good. Only Jill know how to use human things."

"Well it's no good us just standing here," Littlefoot frowned, "we've got to find…"

Suddenly, Littlefoot was interrupted by the sound of footsteps heading their way. The gang froze solid as the footfalls clapped louder and closer.

"W-www…w-what's that!" Ali shivered.

"Something's coming!" Ducky hissed nervously. Everyone looked up to the door as a darkened silhouette glided into view and stopped outside.

"It a monster!" Petrie yelped aloud.

"Quick! Hide!" Littlefoot beckoned dashing behind a tall filing cabinet. Ali, Ducky and Spike shot under a desk and Petrie clung to Cera's neckshield as she leapt behind a dusty, fallen mainframe in the corner. The dark shadow lingered in the window and the doorknob rattled noisily. The gang shrunk deeper into their hiding places, their mouths running dry and breathing becoming husky and harder to control. Every second seemed like an hour as they all silently pleaded with the silhouette to leave. Finally, the rattling stopped and after a few tense seconds, the gang poked their heads out slowly to investigate.

"Do you think it's gone?" Ducky whispered across the dark room to Littlefoot.

"I…I think so. I can't see it anymore," he replied lowly.

One by one, the six of them crawled out of hiding and congregated in the centre of the room.

"Phew. That was close," Ali sighed still a little jittery.

"What you think it was?" Petrie asked transferring from Cera's head to Littlefoot's.

"I don't know but I'm just glad it's gone," Cera breathed. All of a sudden, something crashed heavily into the door. The gang screamed and scattered to their hiding spots again as another bang shook the door.

"It back!" Petrie squealed.

"It's trying to get in!" Ali screeched terrified as the clattering rang on. The doorframe began to buckle under the power of the ramming and the hinges bent inwards shooting screws across the room like bullets. The gang slammed their eyes shut and screamed as the door finally gave way and toppled inwards. It crashed to the floor, throwing up a cloud of dust on impact. The quivering dinosaurs all glanced at the centre of the room watching the curtain of dirt slowly dissipate.

As the blanket of dust particles settled, the gang were amazed to see a figure lying on its side and groaning.

"Jill!" Littlefoot gasped awestruck once he recognised her face through the dust.

"Oooooo….Oww! Think I slightly overdid it," she cringed getting to her feet, "should've kept to the kicking but I guess that last shoulder barge did the trick."

"Jill! What were you doing! Did you wanna scare us all to death!" Cera yelled very displeased.

"Sorry kiddo but I got separated from you when we fell so I had to find you. Looks like my lift stop was a floor or two before yours," Jill smirked, "I saw you below me when I came to but it was too far to drop without incurring some means of injury, so I had to run round."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, we're all together now," Littlefoot smiled but before his expression caught on, wailing and low-pitched moans came from outside.

"Uh oh! Sounds like trouble," Jill warned glancing at the doorway as shadows of lanky humans loomed on the back wall, "come on! Let's split!" Taking the lead, Jill charged out of the room and was quickly snatched at by the nearest zombie. As the gang chased her into the corridor, Jill swung round and punched the creature in the abdomen followed quickly by a hefty kick to its chest sending it to the floor.

"MOVE!" Jill barked to the gang pointing them in the other direction as she slammed her boot down on the zombie's head shattering it.

"Come on! This way!" Littlefoot shouted to his friends leading them around the corner.

Chaos and sheer pandemonium rang down the reverberating corridor as the six dinosaurs sped headlong through the madness with Jill bringing up the rear. Doors burst open and more creatures poured out of them like a spawning river of undead.

"Where are all these things coming from?" Ali squealed as one zombie lunged at her from the right and flopped limply on the floor like a ragdoll.

"Who cares! Let's just get outta here!" Cera wailed hurdling a fallen zombified security guard.

"They are everywhere! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky yelped clinging tightly to Spike's neck as he galloped alongside Ali.

"They're getting ahead of us!" Littlefoot cried watching more and more creatures flowing out of the doorways and cracked walls. The gang skidded to a halt.

"There're too many of them! We're surrounded!" Ali wailed hopelessly. Jill, sprinting up behind them, noticed they had stopped.

"Don't stop!" she yelled taking a massive leap and planting one foot on Littlefoot's back before lifting off and drop-kicking a lumbering zombie in the chest," Keep going! Through here!" Jill quickly barged a door open and the gang jetted after her.

The maze of corridors, labs and offices the seven escapees charged down were littered with more and more undead. The stench of decaying flesh and dried blood was thick in the air with the sheer mass of creatures desperately scrambling to reach them. Flashing of teeth, claws and talons zipped passed their line of sight as they tore down the halls.

"How much further?" Cera yelled exhaustedly.

"Just through here! Through this office is a walkway to the Energetics labs," Jill announced throwing a zombie scientist into a filing cabinet which crashed on top of it. Turning into the office, they all came to a sudden stop at a wall of rubble.

"No…no, no, NO!" Jill panicked thumping the large rocks.

"It's blocked off!" Littlefoot asked fretfully.

"What now?" Petrie squawked.

"Double back! We'll go round!" Jill shouted starting to head back the way they came but she looked up to find their path was blocked by an army of zombified humans as well as a few others such as the freakish lizard-human half-breeds that clambered along the ceiling.

"Crap! We're boxed in!" Jill hissed.

"We're trapped! There're too many!" Ali squeaked.

"There no way out!" Petrie flailed plunging behind Cera's neckshield. Jill shook her head morbidly.

"It's no good. I could never fight my way through that lot," she sighed negatively.

"What about magic? Can't you use your magic like last time?" Cera suggested backing up slowly.

"No good. Something's wrong. I can't conjure up power from my stone," Jill replied flicking her hands at the advancing onslaught but nothing happened. All heads switched to Littlefoot but he replied with a blank, helpless expression. All eyes referred back to the fleet as one zombie lunged at Jill. Hopping into it, she delivered a heavy kick to its stomach knocking it over but this sparked the surrounding enemies to attack all at once. The gang braced themselves as the assault flew in but the sounds of the creatures roaring and hissing was drowned out by an eruption of gunfire. Within seconds, every single monster in view was rendered incapacitated with many of them baring bullet wounds as they crumpled and twitched on the floor.

"Never liked zombie horror films. So out of date," a cocky voice said as the last creature dropped to the ground.

"Oh my God!" Jill gasped instantly recognising the voice, "Stone! You're alive!"

"Only just. Thankfully Cera's little tail flick gave me enough momentum to crash through a windowpane a few floors down," the sergeant gleamed as everyone crowded around chattering excitedly, "I also dropped by one of the armouries and stocked up." The enlightened mood did not last long however as more groans echoed in the doorway and more creatures stumbled awkwardly into the room. Stone snapped his rifle up to shoot but another set of gunshots blared out hitting each zombie in the forehead. Stone lowered his weapon in awe as the small second wave of zombies collapsed to the floor and disintegrated.

"Who the…?" he began as the sound of a clearing throat came from behind him. He turned to see Jill waving a pistol in his face.

"You sure stocked up alright and you've still got the same bad habits. No wonder you kept losing your backup gun in practice. You STILL don't keep your holster done up," Jill tutted wearing a smug smile and with a quick spin of her newly acquired weapon, she slapped it into her own holster, "I, on the other hand, always did prefer my pistol to a rifle. Much more accurate and a more satisfying score."

"And still the fastest drawer this side of a 9mm. Take it, it's yours," Stone smiled handing her a load of handgun magazines. Suddenly, greater roars and the sound of trudging footsteps rang out.

"More coming!" Petrie warned. Jill looked at Stone and he looked back with a devious smirk.

"Lock and load Sergeant!" she said confidently.

"Let's rock!" he replied boastfully before running back out into the corridor unleashing a stream of bullets," Area's covered. Go, go!"

"Come on kids," Jill shouted herding them the opposite way as Stone broke away to follow.

The newly reformed group hurtled headlong through the infested halls and corridors as they came to a T-junction.

"Which way!" Cera panted.

"Go right! Right to Energetics," Jill yelled assisting Stone with cover fire. The gang did as they were told and took off but after belting around the corner, they gasped and dug their hells hard into the floor. Moments later, Stone and Jill shot around the bend and nearly crashed into the back of them.

"What's the hold up?" Stone bellowed. No one answered him as they all stood hypnotised by their route ahead. Stone looked up and his jaw dropped open.

"Ohhhhh crap…" he breathed. Directly in front of them stood yet another human-lizard bioweapon but behind that one stood an entire fleet of hissing, frog-tongued creatures just watching and waiting patiently like obedient dogs awaiting a command.

"Nobody make any sudden moves…" Jill whispered but everyone was too scared to shift anyway.

"What'll we do?" Littlefoot squeaked feeling extremely unnerved by the frontal monster licking its lips. Stone slowly raised his rifle but Jill grabbed the turret with one hand.

"Don't fire idiot!" she hissed, "By the time you get one or two, you'll set the others off."

"So what then?" he snapped back lowly.

"What if we go through there?" Petrie suggested pointing to an open doorway just ahead.

"Are you nuts? We wouldn't even get close!" Cera grunted.

"No, we could. It's about halfway between us and them. If we're subtle about it, they may not attack," Jill said.

"Well we'd better hurry. Those things from back there have sniffed us out. If they don't attack, the ones from behind will once they've caught up," Stone warned. The monsters ahead hissed lowly and deathly as Jill and Stone took the lead, crouching down.

"Stick close to us," Stone mumbled as they inched steadily towards the doorway; the dinosaurs tiptoeing behind. The doorway was pulling up alongside and the creatures still remained motionless as if they hadn't seen them at all. Suddenly, a roar sounded from the back of the herd of monsters and everyone froze solid. Tense seconds ticked passed as the group eyed the monsters waiting for an attack but none of them moved. Stone signalled for them to keep moving and one-by-one, they crept closer to the door. Unfortunately, Ali nervously quickened her pace and brought her foot down on Spike's low hanging tail which he had shrunk in to make himself as small as possible. Spike, in a panic, let out a painful yelp and the legion of creatures all shifted and roared threateningly.

"Crap! RUN!" Stone yelled standing upright and heading for the door. The gang sprinted forwards as the creatures began clambering towards them. Stone, slightly passing the door, flagged them into the room.

"Quickly, quickly!" he ordered flapping madly with one hand.

"Mr. Stone! Look out!" Ali then shouted. Stone whirled around to find one of the monsters airborne and directly over him. Rolling to one side, the lizard dug its huge talons into the ground missing its target but Stone came to a stop facing a mesh of claws in front of his face. Double-backing, Stone rolled the other way but he quickly found a second set of claws in his escape path. Completely encaged, the monster breathed maliciously in Stone's face as it hovered over him. With him trapped, the creature launched its teeth at his neck but Stone flicked his gun up, jamming it in its jaws.

"Get offa me…you manky lizard!" Stone growled tussling with the beast as it hissed and spat trying to sink its teeth into his jugular. Unable to get to Stone with its mouth gummed up with his rifle, the creature rose its right claw high to slash at his face. Stone's eyes widened as the attack was about to come down on him. Just as the creature's claws were due to hit their mark, Stone heard a series of gunshots erupt extremely close to his right ear. The next thing he realised, the monster had completely collapsed on top of him.

"Hey…what the?" Stone mumbled bewildered as he looked up to see an empty magazine bounce in front of his face.

"Well NOW you help. Took your sweet time about it," Stone grumbled kicking his captor's body off so he could stand.

"Nice to hear a 'thank you' outta yer," Jill grinned with her pistol still up in front of her, "we're not out of the woods yet though." Stone looked ahead and a few more creatures stood blocking their path in amongst the dead corpses that started their violent method of accelerated decomposition.

"What now?" Jill whispered as the creatures began to creep closer.

"Gotta get round 'em," Stone replied flatly.

"Any suggestions? I don't think us saying 'please' will work," Jill mumbled unamused. Stone eyed the erupting creature and quickly got an idea. Reaching around to his back, he pulled a grenade from out of a pouch. Jill glanced over at him for a brief second.

"Stoooonnnneee…?" Jill hummed slightly concerned by his anxious fiddling with the grenade behind his back, all the while the monsters were continuing to approach.

"Stone…what are you planning to do with that?" Jill asked cautiously. He didn't reply as his finger slipped into the ring and he tugged it out. Still with the grenade in his hand, he watched the nearest creature stop a little way away from him.

"What're you waiting for? Chuck it!" Jill hissed becoming extremely worried that it was going to go off in his hand.

"Not yet…" he whispered coolly. He seemed very focused and clear-minded. His gaze was permanently transfixed on the leading monster as it glared back before opening its mouth to roar.

"THERE!" Stone yelled winding up and launching the grenade straight at the creature. The little explosive shot directly into its open mouth and stuck fast in its teeth.

"Get down!" Stone screamed pushing Jill into the side room just as a sharp, loud explosion sounded followed by a blinding white light erupting in the corridor.

As the gang all slowly unfurled from their defensive balls, they stood up and nervously looked outside. To their surprise, a number of creatures were still there but they were screeching in a frenzied rage and began randomly slashing in all directions.

"Huh? That wasn't part of the plan," Stone admitted perplexed. Jill then walked up behind him and, having removed another grenade from his pouch, she slapped the back of his head.

"Oww! Hey! What's that for?" he complained massaging the impact point.

"Moron! These are Flare Grenades. Y'know? Flash-bangs!" Jill scolded shaking her head," These aren't meant for offence! The chemicals in these give off a blinding light for losing the enemy. Besides that, they barely singe you!"

"Oh! Whoops! Well I just grabbed the nearest thing. I didn't have time to look," Stone retorted feeling rather stupid.

"So what now?" Littlefoot asked cringing at the deafening screeching outside.

"Well, we can't get passed them coz they're going mad since they can no longer see," Stone said.

Just then, one of the beasts crashed through the window beside the door and collapsed by the far wall. The gang squealed in terror and quickly darted behind Jill and Stone. The creature bore a set of large slash marks on its body and it had already started its bizarre form of decomposing. Clearly, it had been wounded by a stray attack from one of it's own kind.

"What's it doing?" Stone asked bewildered.

"Dying…" Cera said flatly.

"But it is going to blow up once it is on fire!" Ducky warned. Stone looked at Ducky peculiarly and then turned to Jill.

"She's right. It's a kamikaze attempt. It'll self-destruct once enough of its body is alight," she told him.

"Really?" Stone said sounding amazed but strangely enlightened. Jill looked at the sergeant potently, picking up on the tone of his voice.

"What now?" What're you contemplating THIS time?"

"You'll see. I want everyone take cover. Find something to hide behind. Something sturdy," he announced. Littlefoot and his friends did as instructed. Some of them ducked behind an overturned desk whilst the others perched behind a large bookcase in the corner.

"What are you gonna do?" Ali asked peeking out from her hiding place.

"I'm gonna help him along a bit," Stone replied sinisterly reaching around to his back pouch again. Jill looked at him dangerously but the young sergeant simply smiled.

"Trust me on this one…" he said to her. Jill sighed and nodded before stepping to one side.

Stone turned back to his self-destructing target, pulled the pin on the grenade and gently lobbed it so it landed on the creature's back. In its flight, a large blistering bubble swelled up from its skin and looked on the verge of popping. Jill gasped as the thin film around the bubble burst, spraying its volatile chemicals on the walls and over the corpse. Diving to her left, she shoved Stone to the side crashing into the wall behind the heavy, metal door. A split, second later, the Flare Grenade, drenched in the sprouting liquid, exploded causing a massive chemical reaction. The entire room rumbled as the explosion filled the air space. As the eruption slowly subsided, everyone peered out from behind their shelters. Their ears rung from the deafening bang of the grenade as they all looked at each other.

"Is everyone all right?" Jill asked getting to her feet trampling Stone in the process. Everyone smiled and nodded.

"I was until you crushed my shin," Stone whined rubbing his leg. Jill shook her head and held out her hand to help him up.

"Look! There big hole in wall!" Petrie announced pointing to where the monster had been but no sooner had he spoken, roars and groans came from around the corner.

"C'mon, let's go!" Littlefoot said. With one final glance at each other, Jill and Stone smiled and followed the dinosaur kids into the next room.

Chapter 72: The Last Escape 

Speeding down the corridors once again, the gang took a hard right; barely missing numerous attacks, and came to a large plague mounted on the wall at the end of another T-junction.

"Energetics! We're here!" Jill exclaimed jovially.

"This is the place?" Littlefoot asked slightly out of breath.

"Yeah. The Doorway is in the main lab…this way," Stone said turning left but he stopped dead when he saw more undead scientists heading for them.

"Uh oh! More trouble!" Stone said backing up.

"Look! More monsters behind us!" Cera shrieked.

"And more coming from the right!" Jill yelled watching more trudge towards them from the other direction. Everyone stood back-to-back, in the centre of the approaching onslaught as they closed in from all three pathways.

"We're trapped again!" Ducky yelped.

"Lookie! Through here!" Petrie squawked flying to an open space through the wall but as he tried to pass through it, he bashed into an invisible surface.

"Huh?" Petrie cawed in confusion as he peeled himself off the translucent surface.

"A viewing window. Petrie, you're a star!" Jill chirped merrily.

"No, me a flyer," Petrie replied perplexed. Jill, sniggering at the little flyer, pushed passed Stone and raising her handgun, she shot at the window. The glass shattered and tumbled out of its pane.

"Quick! Through here!" she called kicking the shards of glass out of the way. Not wasting another second, Littlefoot his friends and Stone all leapt through the broken window and chased Jill down the halls to the main laboratory. Skidding to a halt, Stone promptly kicked the door inwards and they all piled inside.

The Chronos Doorway stood in the centre of the room surrounded by supercomputers, monitoring screens and giant mainframes that reached the ceiling.

"This is it?" Ali asked marvelling at the size of the machine as it towered above them filling the laboratory with its enormous arching ring.

"So how do we get back home?" Cera said walking around, investigating every inch of it. Jill was working on one of the computer terminals when a message popped up on screen.

"Power's down; the nodes are offline. They won't work until they're charged up," she reported.

"But the majority of this section's had its power supply severed. The automated activation sequence can't operate," Stone said hitting one of the mainframes in frustration.

"Wait. There's a manual charging unit on one of the mainframes," Jill announced tapping away on the keyboard," Mainframe C. Connect the power cables to the console by the portal ring." Following Jill's instructions, Stone pulled two cables from behind the mainframe and connected them to the small console that sat next to the gangway.

"Done. What next?"

"There should be a crank on the wall. Rotate that repeatedly to charge the nodes. This should then power the other computers."

"The computers! But we need the 'portal' up and running!"

The computers are needed to power the Doorway," Jill said as a power meter appeared on the screen, "just find that crank."

"Is this it?" Ducky asked pointing to a dirty, rusty metal lever sticking out of the wall.

"Yes, quick! Start spinning it," Jill barked. Stone stepped up to the crank and gave it a tug. The rusty gears groaned as they rubbed on each other and slowly rotated.

"That's it; keep going," Jill shouted watching the power meter slowly increasing. Stone strained with aging lever as he spun it round again and again.

"Great! Charge is at five percent."

"FIVE percent…is that all!" Stone whined struggling.

"Quit your bawling and keep turning!" Jill ordered.

"Yes ma'am…" Stone replied rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, Spike let out a terrified yelp.

"Uh oh! We've got trouble," Cera said warningly.

"What is it?" Jill asked moving from the terminal. Glancing down the corridor, more zombified creatures were heading towards them through the flickering, faulty lights.

"Damn! They're following us," Jill cursed slamming the door shut, "kids, help me barricade the door. Find any thing loose and shove it in front of the door. We've gotta keep 'em out 'til the machine's charged."

"Right!" they all chanted and began pushing anything they could find to block the way in.

"How far to go?" Stone strained feeling his arms starting to cease up.

"Fifty-seven percent! Keep turning Stone; you're over halfway there," Jill spurred throwing a heavy box on top of the pile of crates and loose machine parts pushed up against the door. Suddenly, the door bowed inwards as something on the other side thumped on it.

"They're trying to get in!" Ali wailed backing away from the door.

"Don't worry about them. By the time they break through that lot, we'll be out of here," Jill said reassuringly.

"How…far…now?" Stone groaned, his arm muscles slowly starting to cramp up.

"Seventy-three percent…not long now," Jill reported but the door, keeping their pursuers out, rattled again and a crack started to form in one corner of the woodwork.

"Hurry up! It's starting to break!" Cera yelled starting to panic.

"Just keep their route blocked, the nodes are almost charged," Jill ordered kicking another stock crate at the door. The kids looked at the pile and pushed the loose boxes back towards the door. All of a sudden, a hand punched through the working crack. The gang screamed as the hole was rapidly filled with flailing arms forcing them to tumble backwards. In his stumble, Spike's foot wrapped around the coiled wire on the floor. As he lifted his back foot to steady himself, the cord was yanked out of the socket linking it to the console.

"What's happening!" Jill gasped, "Charge is dropping!"

"Spike! You pulled the charge cable out!" Stone snapped diving onto the sparking wire, "Damn! And he pulled the connecting socket out of the console too. It doesn't stay in!"

"Stone! Keep it held in place; I'll use the crank," Jill announced.

"But you have to be at the terminal to activate it once it's charged," Stone argued. Jill then turned to Ducky.

"Ducky! Com'mere quick!" she called. Once she hurried over, Jill pointed at the screen.

"Look here. When this red bar goes green, I want you to press this key right here. Okay? You got that?"

"Y…yes. I think so," Ducky stammered a little overwhelmed by the mass of buttons on the keyboard. With a nod, Jill ran to the crank and fought hard to turn it.

"Jeez, this thing's stiff!" she groaned as it gradually rolled around, "Damn, I'll never get it charged at this rate."

"Here, let me help," Cera offered standing alongside her and clasping the handle in her mouth.

"Okay, give it all you got." With that, both of them tugged with all their might whilst Littlefoot, Ali, Petrie and Spike monitored the door and Ducky remained in front of the terminal screen, awaiting her cue.

The charge bar, despite being incomprehensible to the little saurolophus, continued to climb. The barricade was starting to give as Littlefoot, Ali, Spike and Petrie fought desperately to keep it together. As Jill and Cera battled with the disobedient crank and the charge bar reached into the nineties, the two of them felt the metal lever jolt awkwardly before it snapped off in their grasp.

"Oh no!" Jill breathed fretfully gazing open-mouthed at the piece in her hand.

"It broke!" Cera gasped partially choking on the foul, rusty metal aftertaste the bar had left in her mouth.

"Whad'dya mean 'it broke'! It can't be broken!" Stone yelled.

"The rust's made it brittle. The metal's disintegrated; the bar's completely snapped off!" Jill said trying to yank the last little fragment of the crank out of the turning axle but it was stuck fast.

"Something is very wrong Jill. The red thing is going backwards," Ducky reported, her eyes still locked on the screen.

"The charge is dropping! We've gotta fix that crank!" Jill said looking around the room for any possible item that could help, "I need something to remove this piece that's stuck."

Just then, the creatures thumping on the door knocked a small box off the top of the barricade. Narrowly missing Petrie, the box crashed to the floor spilling its contents all over the place.

"What are all those shiny things?" Ali asked investigating the mess, "Could any of these help?" Stone, laying on his back under the console, tilted his head back.

"There! That thing there!" he said excitedly pointing with the sparking cable.

"This?" Ali asked picking up a hex-shaped spanner from in amongst the metal debris.

"Yeah, yeah! Give that to Jill Ali, quickly!" Hurrying over to Jill, Ali passed her the spanner.

"Great! Thanks. Good plan Serge!" she smiled clamping the tool on the remaining piece of the crank still stuck in the mechanism and began spinning it madly. The charging meter shot up exponentially and the bar quickly flickered from red to green in a few seconds.

"It is now green!" Ducky announced at the top of her voice.

"Hit the button Ducky!" Jill bellowed to her. Slightly nervous, Ducky tapped the button and the room instantly came to life. The mainframes and supercomputers that stood around the lab like electronic statues clicked and hummed as power surged through their dormant circuitry.

"Is it working?" Cera asked eyeing one of the nearby mainframes as lights flickered on it.

"Yes, power's been restored," Jill called jovially, "all systems are functioning and destination has been preset. Buckle up kids…you're going home!" The dinosaurs cheered ecstatically and danced around each other as they grouped at the base of the ramp that led up to the massive ring that held the time-travelling portal.

"You ready guys? It's time to see your folks!" Stone beamed walking over to the console next to the ring. Littlefoot and his friends stood waiting with baited breath as Stone tapped the activation key on the console but to his horror, nothing happened.

"What?" he babbled pressing the key over and over but the portal didn't appear.

"What's wrong?" Cera asked feeling her excitement quickly transforming into dread.

"The damn thing's not working," Stone thundered slamming a fist on the unresponsive console. In reply, the barricaded door banged threateningly pushing boxes away.

"Jill! What's the problem?" Stone yelled as she jogged over to the terminal screen.

"Oh…oh no…" Jill sighed pessimistically.

"What! Oh no what!" Stone shouted desperately.

"The doorway needs an energy source. Remember what this whole project was about? It was scrapped coz of the insufficient energy supply. We need a source to tap from," Jill said gravely. Stone and the gang all looked nervously at each other before staring at the door after another crash made it buckle inwards.

"So we need an energy supply. There's got to be one around here somewhere," Stone whined.

"Erm…Mr. Stone?" Ducky then hummed.

"There isn't! Energetics have been working one for years and they couldn't come up with anything. You know that!" Jill argued.

"Erm…Jill?" Ducky continued but they ignored her.

"It's been activated before so there's gotta be a way!" Stone snapped back over the deafening banging of the door.

"Hey Stone…Jill…?" Ali said joining Ducky's attempts to get their attention.

"What about the stone? Those Stones of Essence?" Stone suggested.

"Nothing. Neither me nor Littlefoot have felt anything for ages," Jill complained glancing at her ring.

"So what then!" Stone bellowed infuriated.

"HEY! WILL YOU TWO QUIT ARGUING!" Cera yelled at the top of her lungs. Jill and Stone looked at Cera in shock.

"What?" they said in unison.

"Something's wrong with Littlefoot," Ali said craning her head under Littlefoot's as he stood, in some sort of pain, with his eyes shut tight, "are you all right?"

"My…my eyes hurt. I…I can't see," Littlefoot complained wincing at the tingling pain.

"What happened? You got something in your eye?" Stone asked naively.

"No…it's…" he began but he suddenly heard a faint sound like someone whispering to him. As the sound reached his ears, the pain suddenly stopped and Littlefoot snapped his eyes open. He gazed up as the sound played again and to his surprise, a strange shadowy figure was stood at the base of the ramp only a few feet from him. It had seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Littlefoot?" Ali spoke but Littlefoot seemed entranced.

"Is he all right?" Stone asked gazing directly into his line of sight but Littlefoot seemed to look right through him.

"He look like he see something," Petrie said watching the little longneck staring blankly into emptiness.

"I don't see anything," Cera said slightly confused trying to focus on what Littlefoot was looking at.

Oblivious and in a world of his own, Littlefoot slowly began to step towards his mysterious visitor. As he took a third step, the figure put a hand up and Littlefoot obediently stopped.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Who's who?" Stone shrugged, "Who's he talking to? Is he hallucinating?"

"Shhh Stone…something might be happening," Jill hissed watching the hypnotised Littlefoot as he conversed with the air.

"Well, he better hurry up. That door's not gonna take much more punishment," Stone warned as the door took another damaging blow.

The shadow, still standing in front of Littlefoot suddenly moved further up the ramp but glancing back, it breathed some words that were very difficult to understand.

"What?" Littlefoot asked perplexed still ignoring the others around him as if they weren't there. He listened hard as the shadow repeated it phrase.

"Follow…my…example…" it said airily. Bewildered, Littlefoot watched as a glowing, red light suddenly erupted o the shadow's body. Littlefoot gasped.

"I…I remember you. You're from my dream…aren't you…" The shadow didn't reply. IT simply walked up to the console, placed one hand on its red light and the other on the console beside it. Littlefoot watched, taking in every detail of the shadow's movement.

"Follow…my…example…" it repeated. Littlefoot then nodded in verification as the shadow suddenly exploded in a flash of red light forcing Littlefoot to shield his eyes from the glare. As he pulled his head out from behind his front foot, Littlefoot looked up to find himself back with Stone, Jill and a set of perplexed friends eager to know what just happened.

"I know what to do!" Littlefoot announced. Barging past his friends, he stopped at Jill's feet.

"Jill! Where are the stones?" he asked hurryingly. As Jill opened her pouch, revealing his and Jason's Stones of Essence, he saw the Guardian's Tear Sapphire glisten lividly as if to call out to him. Grabbing his stone, Littlefoot galloped up the ramp to the console and slowly searched his brain trying to re-visualise what the shadow had showed him. The door crashed again heavily throwing its restraints away.

"_I hope this works…_" Littlefoot thought as he stood up on his hind legs and, with his sapphire in his teeth, placed his fore feet on the console. All of a sudden, he felt a strange tingling pass through his body like an electric current as he pleaded for the Chronos Doorway to start. The tingling suddenly burst inside him and a massive wave of energy shuddered through him. Flinching as if he'd just been electrocuted, Littlefoot jerked back as the console fizzled and sparked into life. Even without hitting the activation key, a huge gust of wind shot out from the gigantic ring almost knocking all of them off their feet. Seconds later, a deep, blue pool formed in the centre of the ring.

"It worked! Littlefoot you're a diamond!" Stone shrieked in delight.

"Wow! De ja vu," Jill said smiling, "where have I seen that before?"

"You did it Littlefoot!" Ali exclaimed as the rest of the gang cheered overjoyed. Littlefoot, a little dazed at first, beamed but the ecstatic atmosphere was shattered as the door finally gave way and the barricade was smashed throwing loose boxes all over the place with the force of the final strike.

"Quick! Everyone in!" Stone shouted firing on the first few creatures to pile in through the broken doorway. Terrified, the dinosaur kids flew up the ramp and jumped into the glowing portal without hesitation.

"Go Jill! I'll cover you!" Stone said reloading.

"Well hurry up! I'm not gonna lose you again!" Jill snapped. Stone looked at her for a brief second, breaking away from his counterattack. Suddenly, Jill launched herself at Stone's face and kissed him.

"Good luck…" she said before dashing into the portal. Snapping out of his trance, Stone, after firing another few shots, slapped the console to power down the doorway as he dove through the receding watery, blue time-door after the others.


	23. Part 21: Realise Your Destiny

Chapter 73: Two Second Chances 

The Green Meadow had been a haunted plain since Littlefoot, his friends, Jill and Stone jumped through the time portal to chase after the Red Phoenix. All their parents and a few others were still standing in the same position desperately awaiting some sort of signal from their children. The magic wall of fire that the Red Phoenix had conjured up had disappeared the moment Littlefoot and his friends took the brave decision to pass through the portal and into the human realm. The sergeant's dog, Zephyr, was the only reminisce of human contact with the Great Valley besides the body of Jason which lay peacefully in the soft, sweet-smelling grass that swayed in the gentle breeze.

"How long have they been gone?" Petrie's mother croaked sorrowfully, "It seems like they've been gone for ages."

"There's been no sign of any of them. I do hope they are all right," Ducky and Spike's mother said desperately.

"If they are with those humans, anything could have happened to them," Mr Threehorn growled stomping the ground.

"We can't give up hope. I'm sure the children are fine," Grandma Longneck said but Mr Threehorn grunted objectively.

"How can you say such a thing! Since their kind have come to our Valley, we've seen nothing but destruction and chaos!"

"But all that was brought about by that one human. The other humans who had survived along with Jason told us this before that evil human attacked us," Grandpa Longneck replied as nervous chatter began to break out," the humans helped us on numerous occasions but they fell victim to his scheme."

"But that doesn't justify the fact that the humans have caused so much misery to our Valley," Mr Threehorn continued to argue, "and why were our children involved in the first place? I still blame that human child Jason for everything that has happened here."

"Mr Threehorn!" Grandma Longneck gasped horrified, "Jason was just as much of a victim in all of this as us! That poor child lost his life because of one human's plan to get those coloured stones. Our children felt a great loss for that boy and they made the decision to do something about it because they felt they could whether we approved of it or not. Our children made their own choice but for now, all we can do is sit and wait for their return."

"But…what makes you think they'll come back?" Ali's mother questioned curiously.

"I know Littlefoot is fine. Something in me is constantly telling me that he is all right," she replied confidently which invoked a deathly silence as each and every parent's thoughts turned to their children all with a muted prayer they'd return to them…safely.

Suddenly, the meadow flickered a bizarre shade of neon blue and stray sparks of electricity snapped and crackled in front of them. The crowd of awestruck adults slowly backed away from the spot as all eyes locked on a tiny blue sphere hanging in mid-air. All of a sudden, the electricity cracked louder and the sphere stretched up and out into a thin disk of swirling, endless blue. After a few tense seconds, a number of small, wailing figures came shooting towards them. They tumbled out of the vortex and landed in a messy heap in the centre of the surrounding ring of elders. Gasps of shock and amazement filled the meadow as the bodies untangled themselves from one another and they stood up.

"I don't believe it…we're home!" Littlefoot beamed just as he locked eyes with a pair of faces he felt he hadn't seen in years, "Grandma! Grandpa!"

"Littlefoot!" the two elderly brontosauruses cried overjoyed to see their grandson bounding over to them safe and well.

"We are back Spike! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped merrily as their mother saurolophus charged forward and gripped the both in a tight hug. Petrie, having seen this mother near the back, made a beeline for her outstretched arms and clasped himself around her and sighed.

"Me sooooo glad to see you again Mama!" Petrie gleamed.

"Oh my Petrie…" she said holding her son closer.

"Cerie! Cerie!" two squeaky voices piped as Dinah and Dana danced and spun around Cera's ankles like two mad Catherine wheels.

"I never thought I'd say it but it's great to see you twins," Cera smiled as a huge, looming shadow suddenly towered over her. Cera gulped at the size of the silhouette on the ground and slowly looked up to se her father's mighty stature staring down on her.

"I'm sorry I ran off Daddy! I..I-I…I didn't mean to…I mean…I had to…" she stammered.

"Oh Cera, don't you worry about a thing," Mr Threehorn said softly, "all that matters now is that you're safe." Cera was astonished by her father's reaction. She was at least expecting a grounding or at least babysitting duties until the turn of the season but all she got was a heart-warming smile and a gentle homeward welcoming. As his words sank in, Cera nuzzled her father and the Threehorn Twins quickly joined in.

From atop his perch on his grandfather's head, Littlefoot looked across the meadow, watching all the greetings and loving cuddles and nuzzles his friends were receiving from their folks, until he came to rest upon Ali at the opposite end of the irregularly arranged circle. He smiled as her mother nuzzled her affectionately; he felt glad that they had managed to return back to the Great Valley before her migrating herd had moved on. Suddenly, the blue portal, that had quickly been dismissed once Littlefoot and his friends had tumbled out of it, crackled and sparked lividly but the doorway appeared to be shrinking.

"Oh no! The light is getting smaller," Littlefoot called from his high viewpoint.

"But…Jill and Mr Stone have not come through yet!" Ducky gasped as her mother finally released her and Spike from her hug.

"They survived too?" Petrie's mother asked.

"Yeah, they helped us. I just hope they made it…" Littlefoot said as he was lowered to the ground. The gang all huddled in the middle of the ring, eagerly watching the Chronos Doorway for any signs of Jill or Stone. The portal was getting dangerously small and there was still not contact with either of the former Red Phoenix squadron members.

"_C'mon Jill…c'mon Stone…You've just gotta make it…_" Littlefoot chanted in his head as he remain unblinkingly fixed on the doorway. All of a sudden, two tiny specks in the infinite blue of the steadily receding doorway could be seen getting gradually bigger and gradually louder. Within a few seconds, the portal shot out two figures, one after the other in rapid succession, onto the grass before collapsing on itself and disappearing from sight. The six kid dinosaurs' faces lit up as the black ball split and divided into two instantly recognisable figures.

"Oooohhhh my head! Jeez! If that's the future of public transportation, think I'm gonna stick to the bus," a male voice sounded.

"Whad'dya whining about! That was a rush! Wouldn't mind going again just for the fun of it," a female tone exclaimed playfully.

"Jill! Stone! You made it!" Littlefoot beamed bouncing over to them promptly followed by the others.

"And at what point did you think we weren't Mr Littlefoot?" Jill smirked winking at him, "It's good to see everyone made it back in one piece." Stone smiled but was sharply alerted to a familiar sound he hadn't heard for a while.

"Zephyr! Come 'ere boy!" he beamed holding his arms out as his trusty Alsatian leaped into him tackling his owner to the ground, "Okay, easy fella!" Stone pleaded as Zephyr pasted his face with his tongue overjoyed to see his trainer again.

The gang laughed as Stone fought to throw the gleeful dog off him so he could stand up again. As the sergeant righted himself for a second time, the slightly apprehensive group of adults moved in on the happy reunion.

"We must thank you for bringing us back our children safely. I'm sure you were both the main reason said graciously bowing down to Jill and Stone who were stood to attention.

"Just carrying out our mission sir," Jill reported saluting, "Littlefoot and his friends' safety and return home was our top priority I can assure you."

"Yeah, and they even saved us on a few occasions too!" Stone admitted with a cheeky smirk, "we needed them just as much as they needed us." The gang smiled at his words.

"So what exactly happened?" Ali's mother asked stepping forward.

"It's a long story, hope you've got the time," Stone warned.

"We're all ears," Grandma Longneck verified as everyone leaned in closer.

"Okay, ready kids?" Jill smiled as Littlefoot took the floor.

It took the group a fair while to get through the whole story, with a few of them jumping in and interrupting each other. The elders were spellbound by the tale and gaped at each other once Littlefoot and the others had finished.

"And all this happened whist the Red Phoenix was defeated?" Grandma Longneck asked clearly lost in the sea of tricks, traps and monster attacks.

"Yeah but once we got the Doorway working, we just jumped right in," Cera said flatly.

"The Doorway? That's what that strange, blue ball of light was just now?" Mr Threehorn queried.

"Uh huh and it was all thanks to Littlefoot and his magic stone that made it work," Ali announced making him shy a little.

"How'd you do it Littlefoot?" his grandfather asked intrigued.

"I...I can't really explain it but…I saw something show me. A shadowy figure from my dreams I had a while ago," Littlefoot said airily, "it's funny though. It kinda reminded me of Jason in a way."

"Well, the strangest thing is, when Jason first activated the Chronos Doorway…he did exactly the same thing," Jill told them.

"Really?" Littlefoot smiled enjoying the idea of his resemblance to what Jason did before him. Suddenly, something in Littlefoot's mind that almost filled him with dread. Unable to shake off the vision he had just mentally pictured, he gazed passed the rows of feet and bodies to see Jason's body lying in the grass beyond the circle that had formed around them. Without saying a word, Littlefoot slowly weaved his way through the crowd and stopped next to Jason's silent position as the blades swept alongside him in the wind. The others followed close behind and each stood over the boy who looked like he was in a peaceful slumber.

"_We did it Jason_…" Littlefoot spoke mentally as if he was communicating with his human friend by means of telepathy, "_it took a lot of effort but we defeated the Red Phoenix and stopped her plans like I promised you we would…I know it's what you would have wanted…I only wish you were here to see it too._" Littlefoot looked up at his friends who were all showing the same downfallen expression with the attempt to hide their sorrow behind a brave smile.

"Here Littlefoot," a voice said to him. Turning around, Littlefoot saw Jill standing there with something in her outstretched hand.

"Jason's stone…" he said looking up at her. Jill nodded.

"Take it…I'm sure you'll agree that it should be back where it belongs." With a solemn nod, Littlefoot carefully took the gold pendent in his teeth by its ruby and wandered back over to the ring surrounding Jason. With a long sigh, Littlefoot lowered his head and gingerly placed the gold pendent on Jason's chest and slowly backed away again.

"There…where it belongs," he whispered softly. Determined not to let his emotions take control, Littlefoot raised his head high and scanned the growing smiles slowly emerging on his friends' faces. Jill walked up behind him and gently laid a hand on his back.

"Be glad. At least he can rest in peace now," she said looking him in the eye.

"Yeah. We stopped the Red Phoenix. It's…it's what he would have wanted," Littlefoot smiled.

"You all did great back there in our time," Stone happily admitted sensing their low spirits, "I did have my doubts but I have to say that if it wasn't for you guys, I don't think Jill nor myself would be standing here now." The gang all smiled at the young sergeant as he patted Zephyr who stood obediently by his side as he continued, "even though we lost Jason, I'd consider this mission a success. We crushed the Red Phoenix and you helped save our kind from extinction. We are indebted to you."

"We couldn't have done it without you. You help us get home," Littlefoot said. The others nodded.

"We made quite a team didn't we?" Jill smirked.

"So what happens now? Now that everything is over?" Ali asked as Jill wandered to stand beside Stone.

"Looks like we've got to find a way back to our own time," Stone replied which made the gang fidget uncomfortably.

"But…why would you want to go back knowing the mess your world is in? Wouldn't you prefer to stay here?" Cera suggested.

"Sorry Cera, we can't do that," Jill said shaking her head.

"Why not?" Ducky protested feeling a little hurt.

"As generous as your offer is, we've caused enough trouble to your homeland. We've got our own home to return to, despite how desolate it seems."

"Yeah and we've got so much to correct. There's bound to be survivors on other countries we can contact. We'll have to rebuild what's left of our civilisation; start afresh and learn from our mistakes," Stone added.

The gang all looked at each other for one of them to say something but nothing came to mind.

"Don't worry. This time we'll make sure lunatics like Westwood don't go around creating genetic hybrids hell-bent on world domination," Stone sniggered.

"How will you go about returning to your time?" Grandpa Longneck quizzed lowering his head to speak at eye level.

"We'll have to raid what equipment is left in the complex in the woods not too far from here. It might take a few days but I'm sure we can find something there. Hopefully, the time door generator we used to get here is still operational. It's the same one Jill was testing up in the hills on the outskirts of your Valley. Westwood must have used the same thing to get to the human world from this time as well," Stone explained.

"Yeah. With a bit of luck, the Stones of Essence will work for us one last time so we can at least get back to the year 2113," Jill said with a hand on her hip.

"I see," Grandpa Longneck hummed, "so how would…"

Suddenly, the sky erupted with thunder as thick, dark clouds rolled over the sun blotting out the light.

"Whoa! Where did those dark clouds come from?" Stone exclaimed dipping low as if the thunder made a swooping slice at his head.

"Dunno. It never normally clouds over that fast," Cera said staring up to the grey heavens. More thunder cracked and lightning danced over the smothering blanket patched over the sky.

"I do not like this…oh no, no, no!" Ducky quivered huddling close to Spike as the erratic storm worsened. Lightning flashed and tore across the terrain mercilessly accompanied by deafening thunderclaps and roaring winds.

"What's going on? The weather's going crazy all of a sudden," Mr Threehorn grunted as Dinah and Dana quickly took shelter under him.

"Perhaps there could be whirling winds on the way," Grandma Longneck suggested but Jill shook her head.

"No…this is no ordinary thunderstorm," she reported sternly.

"Whad'dya mean?" one dinosaur asked feeling a little unnerved.

"Something's wrong. Something like…a disturbance in nature's balance. Something's not right about this…I can feel it…" Jill said potently.

"I know what you mean…I can sense it too," Littlefoot agreed. A cold shiver tickled his spine unpleasantly and it quickly spread to the others.

"What is it? What's the matter?" Ducky's mother asked but before anyone could answer, the meadow flashed a brilliant white forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the glare.

"What the hell's going on?" Stone shouted dropping his hand from over his eyes but the meadow suddenly burst into an echoing cackle.

"Look! Up there!" Ali suddenly cried out gazing up at the skyline. There, hovering in mid-air was a rippling image of a large bird with its wings stretched out to their maximum span. The image rippled and wavered as it glowed a fiery red.

"What is that thing!" Mr Threehorn bellowed in amazement.

"Oh no! No-no-NO!" Littlefoot gasped in realising fright.

"It…it can't be! It's impossible!" Jill gaped throwing a hand over her hanging mouth. The gang huddled together in fear as they watched the fiery bird suddenly screech like a falcon and swooped down to the ground where it exploded into flames. Jill and Stone hopped backwards as a shadowy figure stood up in the heart of the blaze and slowly walked out of the flickering flames.

"No! You're…" Cera wailed fearfully as she and the others instantly recognised the figure as none other than the Red Phoenix.

"Surprised to see me?" she cackled wafting the fire behind her so it swayed like a dance partner, "I've gotta hand it to you; you really did pull it over on me back there. I must congratulate you all on attempting to get rid of me…but I am much too strong for you to defeat." Jill and Stone quickly raised their guns but the Red Phoenix dashed at them and disarmed them both with a swift grab and dismantled the weapons before their eyes. Enraged as she looked at her barrel-less pistol, Jill charged forward and spun at high speed to deliver a devastating reverse roundhouse to the Red Phoenix's head. To her surprise, her boot stopped short of its target. Turning to face her, she saw that the Red Phoenix had caught her foot effortlessly with one hand. With a sly smirk, the Red Phoenix threw Jill's trapped foot upwards launching her into an uncontrollable somersault which sent her crashing on top of Stone and Zephyr.

"The almighty Phoenix squadron still resort to brute force to win their battles. So predictable," the Red Phoenix sniggered as she scanned the horrified faces staring at her, "so this is where the little heroes dwell. I never noticed how wondrous your landscape was while I was under Westwood's brainwashing orders."

"H-how can you s-still be…?" Littlefoot stuttered.

"…Alive? Dear sweet Littlefoot. I am destined to fulfil my task of preserving beautiful, natural establishments such as this. And the only way to accomplish that is to eradicate the humans from the planet. It is fate…a fate that cannot be rewritten and I won't admit defeat until I've carried out what I am supposed to do."

"No! We won't let that happen!" Stone yelled in anger running at her. The Red Phoenix smiled sweetly as Stone threw a punch which she caught psychically without budging an inch. Stone struggled to move from his frozen position as he felt his body being lifted off the ground.

"Arrgghh! PUT ME DOWN!" Stone spat lividly but he quickly regretted his words as the Red Phoenix pressed a hand on his stomach and launched him backwards into the crowd bowling them all over. The Red Phoenix laughed mockingly aloud as she followed them up, watching them getting to their feet again.

"A very close call back in London but now there is nothing to save you this time."

"Still resorting to your petty magic tricks Phoenix?" Jill snorted.

"Because of my resurrection with Stones of Essence, I won't be moving on as long as they are still in circulation. Their limitless energy will constantly lead me to their location no matter where…or when they are," the Red Phoenix said as her hands became swamped in a dark mist, "once I reform the Heaven's Eternity Crystal, I will continue my task……and I'll destroy all those who stand to oppose me." With that, the back mist suddenly lifted off her hand and merged to form a threatening black ball of dark matter that hovered just in front of her face.

"This must stop! You will not harm the children!" Grandpa Longneck bellowed stepping in front of Littlefoot and his friends. The other adults promptly hopped forward to shield the gang from harm.

"No Grandpa! Don't!" Littlefoot cried knowing his grandfather could not comprehend what the Red Phoenix was capable of conjuring up. As the children pleaded with the elders to back down, Jill and Stone stood ahead of them all.

"Phoenix! You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't murder these innocent families…" Jill screamed but the Red Phoenix narrowed her eyes at her dangerously.

"……Watch me…"

Arm extended, the Red Phoenix struck the ball which shot at supersonic speed towards the defensive barrier that stood in front of Littlefoot and his friends.

"No!" the gang cried in unison. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the black ball came shooting at them. Suddenly, something flashed past everyone's line of sight like a lightning bolt. It moved so fast it was impossible to make out what it was. A blue, blurring streak of light passed through the air and sliced through the dark ball, cutting it in half where it erupted into gaseous wisps. As the black fog cleared from the air, in the centre of the impact point was a crouched figure with a blue, incandescent blade swung behind it. The figure slowly stood up and turned to face the crowd who were all amazed by its entrance.

"I…I don't believe it!" Littlefoot gasped feeling his spirit suddenly soar. Stood in between him, the adults and the Red Phoenix was a boy wearing blue jeans, a black-hooded jumper with a coiled silver dragon embodied on the front. In his right hand was a glowing, blue blade and around his neck was a gold chain with a glistening red, triangular ruby encased in the gold frame which hovered over his chest.

"Jason! He's alive!" Ali cried utterly astonished.

"Impossible! I robbed you of your life force. There's no way could have survived!" the Red Phoenix growled enraged but Jason completely ignored her. With a growing smile, he made his way over to his friends. Infuriated, the Red Phoenix launched a quick energy shot at him but without even looking, Jason raised a hand and deflected it right back at her knocking her over.

"Jason! You're all right!" Littlefoot exclaimed bounding over to meet him.

"Littlefoot…my dear friend. It is so good to see you again," Jason sighed wrapping his free hand around his long neck. In an instant, the rest of the gang galloped over to greet him.

"Jason! You back!" Petrie cawed perching on his shoulder.

"It's great to see you too Petrie. All of you," Jason beamed.

"But…where did you come from?" Ducky asked as she tried to restrain Spike from lapping at his face.

"I was here all along. You…all of you. You returned my stone to me and thus returned my imprisoned life force…you brought me back," Jason smiled.

"Nice to see you up and running again kiddo," Jill said clapping him on the back.

"Thanks Jill. Oh, by the way, I nicked your Laser Blade to take out that ball of dark matter. Closest thing to hand," he said deactivating the energy weapon and handing the handle back to her.

"But…the battery was dying," Jill said puzzled examining the weapon, "yet you charged it up to a power level I've never seen. I've never seen a Laser Blade glow BLUE before. Usually green means it's at maximum charge."

"Must have overcharged it. That's one for the records I think," Stone joked.

"Jason…" a soft voice then called from overhead.

"Grandma…Grandpa. It seems like a lifetime since I saw you last," Jason sighed happily hugging their noses as Littlefoot wandered over to join in.

Suddenly, an explosive roar rang out from the other side of the field and a tall silvery column of energy shot up to the darkened sky.

"You! You should have stayed dead boy! Now I will have to obliterate you along with your meddlesome friends!" the Red Phoenix screeched, "Come now!" Littlefoot suddenly jumped forwards.

"No way! This time, we are going to stop all this for good. Now we are all together, we will defeat you!" Littlefoot yelled valiantly.

"Yeah!" the others chanted in unison but Jason stepped out in front of them.

"No!" he shouted.

"Huh? What?" Littlefoot said staring at Jason open-mouthed.

"None of you are to get involved. You've fought your battle…now it's time for mine."

"What! You're going to fight her by yourself? Are you crazy!" Cera grunted.

"This is a personal matter. I must defeat her alone. I've left too much for you to do…now it's my turn."

"But Jason…" Littlefoot pleaded.

"Sorry Littlefoot. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of her. No one else is going to die by her hand and I am going to see to that," Jason said taking a step forward but Littlefoot craned his head in front of him; his eyes wide begging him not to do it, "I know now what I must do. This…this is my destiny…and I must fulfil it." Littlefoot felt helpless but he understood exactly what he meant.

"Please…be careful," he whispered hoarsely.

"I will. Stand back and wait for me…okay?" Jason replied. Littlefoot nodded as he watched him walk out into the field.

"Jason!" Jill suddenly shouted to him. As he turned, she threw him her Laser Blade. With a mod, he continued to march towards the spot where the Red Phoenix was waiting.

"Go kick her ass…" Stone said lowly cheering him on as the crowd watched from a distance as Jason stood poised directly opposite the Red Phoenix who stood with her arms folded wearing a spiteful look.

Chapter 74: Family Feud 

The raging thunderstorm continued its wrathful attack on the Great Valley skyline. The ripping, gale force winds came and went like crashing waves on an airy rough, airy tide. Jason stood, focus unbroken, on the Red Phoenix just across the way from him. His emotions running raw making every nerve tingle and burn from the tips of his fingers to his toes. The Red Phoenix stared him down; she could sense something dangerous just by the way he was standing and the transfixed gaze of his eyes.

"Your persistence is admirable. Even in death, you could not rest peacefully or pass on to the next life," the Red Phoenix said somewhat impressed. There was no sign of her normal mocking, sarcastic tone.

"I can pass on…not yet. Not knowing of your evil purpose for existing," Jason snarled. The Red Phoenix sniggered.

"Not a very nice thing to say to your mother," she joked.

"Don't say that!" Jason snapped angrily.

"Why not? It's the truth and you know it is whether you want to accept it or not," she argued forcing Jason to fall silent, "I could go through every moment of our lives from the day you were born, to the day we were separated seven years when Westwood shot me down in our escape. I could tell it to you like I was reading it from a book."

"If so, then tell me this…" Jason said but something was hurting him inside the more he heard, "if you are really my mother I adored so much back then, why would you turn on me? Why decide to eradicate everything the human race as strived to accomplish. Why destroy the human race?" The Red Phoenix placed her head in her hand for a moment allowing enough time for the audience of dinosaurs to slowly creep forward to a safe listening range.

"Even having explained it countless times before, you expect me to reiterate myself again? Fine…I wanted to allow the planet to thrive and bloom into the natural wonder that it was destined to be; I want to allow it to reach its full potential. Humans are a catalyst that hinder this process with their 'accomplishment' succeeding at the cost of the planet's well-being," she said slowly, "Humans destroy, everything they touch. The natural riches that try so desperately to flourish turn to dust at their development plans. Pollution, deforestation, eutrophication, waste dumping…the list is endless." The Red Phoenix began to pace up and down restlessly as her own words tormented her filling her with anger.

"I want to help restore the Earth to the natural beauty it has always longed to be and it is the Stones of Essence that will assist me. I can see they were the planet's final call for help and I'm acknowledging it."

"But why seek a solution in destroying everything. If everything is gone, then how can anything hope to survive?" Jason retorted.

"Because it is the only way. Clearing the land to make a fresh start. A new beginning without the poison that cripples its development."

"But what about me? If you were really my mother, how could you try to claim my life and those of my friends and still think you have a just cause?"

"As I said before, the souls of the Stone bearers must be at one with their power source. When I first confronted you, I was confused, still under the influence of Westwood's drugs and chemical treatments which left me brainwashed. It wasn't until I stole your life force that I realised who the real enemy was."

"So even in knowing this, you still sort to destroy us all?"

"I'm sorry Jason, but what I have decided cannot be turned upon. My fate is written…as I'm sure you know…so is yours…" Jason felt something shudder inside chilling his blood.

"Yes…I too know of my fate…" he said sounding downfallen. With a solemn nod, Jason tightened his grip on the Laser Blade in his right hand and activated it, "My fate…is to stop you."

With that, he slowly raised the glowing, blue, overcharged energy blade pointing it at the Red Phoenix who grinned slyly.

"So, you really think you can do it?" she edged, "you honestly think you can strike me down…your own mother?"

"Stop saying that!" Jason yelled, "Even though what you say about your past may be true, you're not my mother as far as I'm concerned! You have no soul…you're nothing more than a nightmare from the past brought back through hell-spawned methods and experiments. You are no better than ANY of the monsters that have emerged from the Red Phoenix Corporation's hell-hole!"

"I'm sorry you see it that way Jason. You've left me with no choice," the Red Phoenix signed as a long vine-like tentacle sprouted from her right hand and locked rigid with a shimmer of light making a biological sword surrounded by a magic sheath, "this time…I will have to kill you by physically destroying you. Either way I will continue my mission."

"I won't allow that to happen. This madness goes no further…" Jason said eyes locked on her.

"Then you'd better hope your spoken fate was not a false prophecy because you'll have nothing to return to if you fail." Jason's body flushed very hot. He grasped his ruby in his left hand for a moment, feeling his racing heart accelerate as he readied himself.

"Are you ready?" she asked flicking her weapon that cut the air with a dangerous swishing sound. Jason's eyes narrowed as he rolled the Laser Blade over his hand, caught it and held it outstretched at her face.

"Be warned…I won't hold anything back…" he replied precariously. The Red Phoenix's twisted smile returned as she waved him on.

"Then come on……COME AT ME!"

Jason snapped his Laser Blade down to his side and charged at the Red Phoenix roaring, his blade scorching the ground as it dragged along the grass. The Red Phoenix continued to smile not budging an inch as he ran full-speed at her head on. The thunderstruck audience held their breath as Jason's blue blade vaulted high over his head and came down with its neon, blurring tail to strike deathly blow right between the Red Phoenix's eyes. There was a blinding flash forcing everyone to shield their eyes as thunder boomed in the murky heavens above them. The glare slowly dissipated, fading from view revealing Jason and the Red Phoenix entangled in a fierce sword fight. The streaks from the overcharged Laser Blade laced the air with electric ribbons ghosting every sword slash which clattered with the Red Phoenix's magic shielded tentacle. Sparks of stray energy leapt from each strike, block and counter as neither fighter conceded a hit. Parrying a swipe to her abdomen, the Red Phoenix made a high slash at Jason's face who countered with another overhead swing. The two blades smashed into each other directly between their eyes instantly switching the fight into a grappling battle.

"Not bad. Your skills are actually better than I first envisioned," the Red Phoenix drooled pushing on her weapon trying to force it through Jason's guard.

"I'm glad you think so," Jason replied pushing into her harder, "but this is just the beginning. I'm just getting warmed up."

"Good…coz so am I," she said dangerously.

The grappling continued as the audience looked on awestruck. Jason strengthened his grip and leaned into the Red Phoenix forcing her to take a step backwards but all the while, the Red Phoenix's tentacle was growing brighter. All of a sudden, the Red Phoenix's weapon flashed into Jason's eyes and an invisible force threw him backwards. Shaking his head to throw off the daze, Jason looked up at the Red Phoenix from on the ground as she cackled over him.

"What kind of dirty trick?" Jason scorned still a little shaken.

"I don't remember agreeing to any rules," she gloated, "as far as I'm concerned, anything goes."

"You're going to regret that!" Jason growled but it just made her laugh harder. Angered by her mockery, Jason folded his legs in, rolled on to his back and flicked forwards and up to his feet. With his weapon in hand, Jason roared and charged headlong back into the fight. He slashed down and across at the Red Phoenix's torso but she hopped backwards out of harm's way. Jason followed up with a lunge, blade extended at full arm's length, at her stomach but she sharply knocked his weapon up and out of his grasp. With the opening, she thrust her tentacle at his chest but Jason swiftly jumped back and narrowly missed a follow-up, horizontal slash. Having rolled to one side, Jason caught the spinning Laser Blade in a reverse grip and launched the butt of the handle into her stomach. The Red Phoenix winched and staggered back slightly from the impact and made a weak block against a rapid succession of high and low attacks. Stumbling back as Jason laid into her, the Red Phoenix made a quick swing at his supporting leg which he instantly brought up out of range and shoved it heavily into her chest. The Red Phoenix flew backwards but managed to gain control of her flight and flipped over to her feet. She looked up in fury but gasped to see Jason almost on top of her again. She crouched down as he swiped at her head allowing his attack to over throw itself. There, she backflipped to her hands and kicked Jason under his chin throwing him into a crazed somersault. The Red Phoenix gracefully flicked over to her feet again as Jason recovered from the surprise counterattack the best he could by landing on his hands and knees. Slightly winded, Jason coughed trying at catch his breath when someone shouted out to him from the crowd.

"Jason! Look out! Above you!" Jill yelled urgently. Glancing up to the blackened sky, Jason saw the Red Phoenix airborne and was coming down on him, weapon aimed down, trying to plunge it through his spine. Unable to shift in time, Jason held the Laser Blade up over him but the powerful force behind the dive-bomb clashed so hard with his faltered guard that it threw him across the grass. Jason rolled over onto his back, his body aching and stinging in the cool grass as he panted wearily. His recovery was short-lived as the Red Phoenix attempted to pounce on him again. Ready for her second time around, Jason rolled his legs up as she came down sinking her weapon into the ground. With her blade temporarily out of action, Jason pushed up vertically into a handstand planting both feet solidly into her face. Caught off-guard, the Red Phoenix sprawled backwards landing on the base of her spine as Jason sprung from hands to feet; weapon at the ready.

Hopping to standing again, the Red Phoenix smirked as she watched Jason, stood poised awaiting another attack.

"He's good. I'd expect nothing less from the guardian of the Warrior's Heart Ruby," she said to herself, "I can't take him head on…I need to get round him." Then, she got an idea.

"Good, you're doing well Jason. Just what I'd expect from a keeper of a Stone of Essence. Nice work my son," she called over to him.

"Shut up!" Jason shouted defiantly.

"Now, let's see if you can impress you dear mother some more," she smiled.

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Jason screamed. He kicked off the ground and sprinted towards her as the Red Phoenix did the same. The crowd gawked from the sidelines, the skies roared and danced with lightning and thunder as they approached each other in a deadly game of chicken. Taking the first opportunity, Jason attacked at blinding speed, half-expecting another grapple but to his amazement, his blade flew further than the point where their weapons were due to clash but hit nothing but air on the other end. The Red Phoenix was no longer in front of him. Bewildered, Jason suddenly heard the sound of rushing wind breeze past him and a rustling in the grass behind him.

"Jason! Behind you!" Littlefoot shouted. Whipping around, Jason caught the glimmer of something out of the corner of his eye. Unsure of what it was, he instinctively raised his sword but the force of a blow from the Red Phoenix knocked it out of his hand. Overcome by surprise, Jason felt a hand lock around his throat and lift him off the ground.

"Let…let go…of me!" Jason choked.

"I told you. You can't defeat me," the Red Phoenix grinned enjoying watching him suffer.

"You…you cheated. You tel-teleported…you dirty…" Jason spat loathingly but the Red Phoenix tightened her grip.

"There's no such thing as honourable fighting dear boy. Now, that was easier than I expected…how would you like to die?"

"Jason!" the gang cried.

"Stay…back! Don't…get…involved…" Jason shouted the best he could through his restricted windpipe.

"Jason…not again…" Littlefoot sighed unable to bear the thought of losing him again.

"You'd still prefer to play the hero's role. Prefer to suffer than call for help or admit defeat," the Red Phoenix smirked darkly squeezing even more.

"I won't…" he croaked.

"What's that?" the Red Phoenix asked airily pulling him closer.

"I won't…admit…defeat…to you," Jason managed to say. The Red Phoenix screwed up her face.

"You what?" she hummed in confusion. Suddenly, she felt something hit her hard in the stomach. Folding in with the blow, she loosened her grip on his throat a little but quickly felt another impact further up her body, in her chest. To her disbelief, Jason had tucked his legs up, began planting his feet into her and was literally walking up her body. Before she realised what was going on, Jason's third step was directly in her face and he gave an almighty kick off and flipped, head over heels, to his feet. As he finally touched the ground again, Jason clasped his smarting throat, coughing and spluttering as his airways opened up fully once more. However, his recovery was extremely short and he failed to notice the Red Phoenix running at him. Looking up, he was quickly cracked across his face by a heavy roundhouse kick sending him shooting backwards into the base of a tree which shuddered on impact.

"Jason!" Littlefoot cried springing to his aid followed closely by the other members of the gang.

"Littlefoot…guys…" Jason sighed exhaustively before collapsing.

"Poor Jason. He's so tired," Ali said sympathetically.

"He's done enough. Now it's our turn," Sergeant Stone announced glaring at the Red Phoenix who looked shaken from Jason's surprise escape. Jill nodded and stood shoulder to shoulder with him ready to launch into action on command.

"So…you two think you can do better?" the Red Phoenix growled. The humiliation of Jason's escape fired up into a burning rage, "I dare you…if you think you can…I dare you to step forward." Defiantly, Stone paced forward as did Jill. Unamused, the Red Phoenix stroked her glowing weapon and waved them on.

"No…don't…" Jason pleaded feebly but Jill and Stone had already taken off and were heading into the fray. Too worn out to move, Jason watched in fear as the two of them attempted to continue the fight he felt he was supposed to finish.


	24. Part 22: Fate's Lifestream

Chapter 75: A Risky Attack Plan 

Jill and Stone engaged the Red Phoenix in a ferocious battle that had every prehistoric commentator on edge. It was difficult to see who was attacking whom with limbs flying furiously through the air but the two former Red Phoenix mercenaries had the Red Phoenix's blade to consider which she had no remorse in sweeping at them with.

"Whoa! Look at them go!" Littlefoot exclaimed breathtaken but all the while, slightly nervous for their safety.

"I do not like this. Oh no, no, no," Ducky whimpered.

"Me neither," Petrie whined looking pitifully at Jason who was still crashed out under the tree.

"I just hope they do it," Ali pleaded. The others nodded solemnly as their attention was quickly reverted back to the battle scene.

The speed and fury of the fight failed to fluctuate even a degree as wave after wave of attacks came in from Jill and Stone. They relentlessly punched, kicked, blocked and parried whilst trying their utmost to avoid being hit with the Red Phoenix's magically enhanced tentacle which she branded regardless of her opponents being completely unarmed. Stone threw a left and right jab at the Red Phoenix's face which she dodged effortlessly. On her rising, Jill spun around to catch the Red Phoenix off-guard with a reverse kick to her head but she quickly ducked it and swept Jill's standing leg out from underneath her. Hitting the ground, Jill gasped and rolled to one side as the Red Phoenix ploughed her weapon into the grass. With her huddled over her trapped tentacle, Stone promptly lifted his heavy boot up and into her stomach, followed by a two-fisted jackhammer to her spine. The Red Phoenix flinched and tore her blade up out of the floor to slash Stone across the chest. Stone hopped back but the Red Phoenix followed up with a slash to his head forcing him to arch backwards uncomfortably. Knowing he was now blind to her next attack, she attempted to bring her blade down and through his exposed chest but Jill caught her glowing hand at her wrist halting the blow. Struggling for a moment to two, the Red Phoenix dropped down all of a sudden and, placing her feet in her abdomen, rolled backwards and threw Jill over her head and onto her back. Jill hit the ground hard but had no time to recover as she rolled sideways to avoid being stabbed in the forehead. Cursing as she missed again, the Red Phoenix failed to notice Stone behind her who stepped into the back of her knee joint causing her to collapse to one knee but he didn't waste anytime and seized her in a headlock from behind. Unable to use her blade effectively, the Red Phoenix flicked her right leg up and smashed Stone in the bridge of his nose. Dazed but unshaken, Stone gripped tighter forcing the Red Phoenix to her knees. Enraged, the Red Phoenix held her tentacle up in front of his eyes and it exploded with a blinding white light. Stone yelled in pain and released his strangling hold. The Red Phoenix didn't waste a second of her gaining the upper hand kicking Stone away from her. She raised her blade high over the blinded sergeant ready to drop it down on his head. Suddenly, Jill darted out of nowhere and jumped directly between the two of them as the Red Phoenix launched her attack. As the blade swung down, Jill closed her eyes, held her hands up and miraculously clasped the tentacle in between the palms of her hands. On impact, a gigantic gust of wind erupted around her throwing the subdued Stone back into the crowd of dinosaurs and out of harm's way.

The Red Phoenix gawked in sheer shock at the sight of Jill knelt before her with her weapon pinned in her hands as if she was praying with it; her hands were smothered in green flames. She snatched her weapon away as Jill jumped back. The two women glared loathingly at each other just waiting for the other to make a move. Something twitched in Jill's eye which sparked the Red Phoenix to attacking. She slashed malevolently with her tentacle but the flames on Jill's hands shielded her from harm as she deflected each strike as they flew in at all angles. One attack came down over Jill's head but she knocked the blade up with a swift upwards block and promptly smashed the Red Phoenix in the gut with her free, left hand. The Red Phoenix stumbled slightly but came back with a fierce swipe at Jill's neck to sever her head from her shoulders. Reacting within a split second, Jill arched backwards with her arms crossed over her face. The blade clashed with the fiery gauntlets, that flashed down her arms, with blinding sparks causing it to glide over Jill's head harmlessly. With her opening, Jill leapt up and extending her leading leg in mid-flight, she dropkicked the Red Phoenix square in the chest. Hitting the ground, the Red Phoenix spat lividly and flicked up to her feet. Jill readied herself for another attack watching her opponent's every move. Suddenly, the Red Phoenix flicked up her unarmed hand and shot a quick energy blast towards her. Jill stood primed but the ball shot straight past her.

"You missed!" Jill snorted indignantly.

"Did I?" the Red Phoenix smiled slyly. Horrified, Jill snapped around to see the glowing energy shot head straight for the audience of dinosaurs on the other end of the meadow.

"No!" she yelled in panic but there was no way she could prevent it from hitting its target, "Damn you Phoenix!" The dinosaurs squealed in terror as the ball approached them but Littlefoot jumped out in front of them all to take the full brunt of the ball's destructive force.

"No! You can't!" he cried slamming his eyes shut as the ball hit him full on. Something flickered blue before his vice-clamped eyes and a translucent blue surface shone in front of him mere fractions of a second before the ball was due to hit. The shot bounced off the magic shield Littlefoot had managed to conjured up and repelled it in the exact direction it came from. The impact threw the little longneck back into the crowd of awestruck adults where his grandparents immediately sprung to his aid.

"Littlefoot! What was that you just did?" Grandpa Longneck stammered.

"It's a loooong story Grandpa," Littlefoot replied shaking his head before running up to the front of the very grateful assembly. In the meantime, the deflected energy shot zipped through the air back towards Jill. Jill took a step to the side and allowed the ball to bolt right by her. The Red Phoenix, shocked at first, held up her weapon and managed to strike the ball again and launched it back at Jill who was oblivious to the deflected shot being deflected again.

"Jill! Jill, look out!" Cera screamed. Jill whipped around, just in time to see the ball coming right at her. She held her hands up in defence but something got to the ball before it reached her. The ball was batted away out of harm's way where it smashed into a tree and completely disintegrated it.

"Jason!" the gang cried in surprise.

"Jason, you're all right," Jill said a little alarmed by his presence.

"Yeah. Think I needed that little break," Jason smiled but his expression turned grave as he looked up at the Red Phoenix, but now, this has all this has got to stop."

"Couldn't agree with you more. Any suggestions?"

"You fools are wasting your time," the Red Phoenix bellowed over the noisy clattering of thunder, "I cannot be defeated so long as the powers bestowed upon the Stone of Essences exist. As long as you harness you powers, so will I."

"The power…" Jason hummed.

"The power?" Jill reiterated a little confused. Then, Jason's mind clicked.

"Jill. Go get Littlefoot and his stone. I'll deal with the Red Phoenix," he said flatly.

"What you got in mind kid?" Jill asked but Jason just smiled.

"Trust me…" With that, he reactivated his overcharged Laser Blade and dashed at the Red Phoenix without another word. Jill stood dumbstruck by his words as she watched the two of them clash weapons once again. Something in her gut twinged nervously at Jason's plan but she quickly darted back to the others to retrieve Littlefoot.

"Jill! What's going on?" Ali asked despairingly.

"Yeah Jill. D'ya wanna explain what the hell's going on?" Stone groaned still recovering from his blindness. His world was still a hazy shade of fuzzy colours with little distinguishable features.

"No time," she barked as she turned to Littlefoot, "Littlefoot, come with me."

"What?" Littlefoot gasped a little taken aback.

"Jason's got something planned. Don't know what and don't know how but he needs our help so c'mon."

"What about the rest of us?" Cera moaned.

"Just keep your distance," Jill replied, "if what Jason's got in mind is going to work, I doubt it will be peaceful." The gang looked hopelessly from Jill to Littlefoot but he shook his head.

"No guys. We're the ones she wants. I don't want any of you to get hurt." The group fell silent as Littlefoot and Jill turned away.

"Littlefoot?" Ali called to him as he began to walk. He turned and looked at her, "…be careful…"

"Don't worry. I will be," Littlefoot smiled.

"Take care of yourself out there lieutenant. Looks like this mission's down to you three stone carriers. Good luck," Stone said saluting but he was shocked to feel Jill peck him on the cheek.

"I'm coming back Sergeant. Count on it," she nodded back in reply. With that, both Littlefoot and Jill ran out into the field to assist Jason.

Further into the Green Meadow, Jason and the Red Phoenix had come to a stalemate as they wrestled with each other as another exchange of sword swipes had ended in another grapple. The two of them struggled and strained, leaning on their weapons trying to force the other to concede.

"Persistent aren't you?" the Red Phoenix grunted.

"I won't…back down! I won't give in…to your…dirty trickery," Jason growled pushing harder on the handle of his Laser Blade.

"Not even this one?" the Red Phoenix said darkly. Jason's eyes widened as the tentacle he was battling against suddenly wilted and fell limp like a dying snake. Jason gasped as the tentacle wrapped itself around his glowing, blue, incandescent blade, gripped tightly and began pulling to snatch the Laser Blade out of his grasp. Having to react to the sudden switch in battling motion from a push to a pull, Jason grabbed on with two hands trying desperately not to lose his sword. The Red Phoenix smiled with an evil grin and retracted her tentacle pulling Jason in with it. As he flew in with the sharp withdrawal, Jason cringed as he felt the Red Phoenix's knee plant itself firmly in the pit of his stomach. Flinching but determined not to surrender his weapon, Jason yanked his Laser Blade back and regained some safe distance from any more attacks.

"That…was low!" Jason spat still slightly winded.

"Now as low as this…" the RED Phoenix gleamed.

Snapping her fingers on her free hand, the tentacle instantly shattered into a set of razor sharp barbs that each glowed with their own magic sheath and were now hovering in front of Jason's face. Panic-stricken, Jason turned and fled and the possessed barbs gave chase. Hot on his heels, Jason desperately wracked his brains for some idea of how to shake them off. Looking up ahead, Jason saw a tall tree fast approaching him. An idea jumped to mind. Deactivating his blade, Jason threw the handle at the tree's trunk where it stuck fast about two feet up from the base. Taking a mighty leap, Jason hopped onto the handle as it stuck out of the tree and used it to spring up high. With the barbs directly behind him, they all plunged deep into the tree's thick trunk as Jason majestically back somersaulted to his feet. Without wasting a second, Jason landed, pulled his Laser Blade out of the tree and ran towards the now unarmed Red Phoenix. Roaring, Jason slashed at her, once in range, but she fiendishly teleported behind him and, as he turned to look for her, unleashed a jaw-breaking, spinning roundhouse to Jason's face sending him reeling backwards.

"Jason!" Littlefoot cried kneeling down as he pulled alongside him.

"You all right kiddo?" Jill asked helping him to his feet. Jason didn't say anything as he wiped a trickle of blood from his lip as he glared at the Red Phoenix. She was smiling at him as the magic shards of the surprise splitting tentacle attack reformed in the palm of her right hand and grew into the same sickly weapon encased in it's magic, protective sheath.

"I can sense it in you," the Red Phoenix drooled as she returned his icy glare, "I can feel it. A burning fury ripping through you blinding you from the obvious and blatant fact that you cannot defeat me."

"I hate to admit it but we just can't seem to topple her," Jill grumbled, "we've thrown everything at her."

"Is she really too strong for us?" Littlefoot breathed worryingly.

"No…she can't be. She must be able to be defeated," Jason replied shaking his head. He refused to believe the Red Phoenix was that much superior that they were no match for her.

"Your powers are far too weak. Your skills are admirable at best but without the proper knowledge of how to manipulate your power effectively…you may as well not have them at all," the Red Phoenix told them sounding rather irritable. Jason's face pursed up with anger but he quickly sighed submissively.

"You're…you're right…" he said negatively.

"What!" Jill and Littlefoot blurted gobsmacked.

"She's right. There is too much we don't know about our bestowed powers given to us by our stones," Jason said defeated.

"Jason! I…I don't understand. Why are you saying this all of a sudden? Why say all this now?" Jill stammered thunderstruck.

"My mother had been researching a perpetual energy source for years with Professor Baxter. She was the one who found the first Stone of Essence in the Andes and was also the first to analyse every part of it molecular structure. She had a much deeper understanding than anyone else of how the source could be used. Since the Red Phoenix has taken my mother's place, she too has that adept knowledge on the Stone's energy sources. I…I know that now…"

"…Jason…" Littlefoot gasped a little downfallen by his words. The Red Phoenix's smiled began to widen as Jason deactivated his Laser Blade and placed it in the side pocket of his scuffed, dirty jeans. Jill and Littlefoot then gasped as they witnessed Jason remove his gold pendent and ruby from around his neck and drop it on the grass at his feet.

"Jason! What are you doing!" Jill shouted horrified.

"The only thing I can do," he replied monotonically. He turned to Littlefoot and looked deep into his eyes. Littlefoot nodded, picked up his sapphire and placed it next to Jason's pendent. Jill was lost. She was speechless that both of them had just simply surrendered their Stones of Essence without quarrel.

"Jill…this is it…this is why I needed your help," Jason said flatly but Jill shook her head slowly as if were half expecting the two of them to suddenly turn on her.

"…this is also why I needed you to trust me…" he continued. Still confused, Jill reluctantly reached into a pouch on her waist and pulled out her emerald ring. She gazed into the frozen, swirled cloud at the stone's core before stepping forward and dropping it next to the others.

"I hope you know what you're doing kid," Jill said sternly as she fell back in line.

"Have a little faith Jill," Littlefoot told her smiling bravely. Jill smiled back but the Red Phoenix broke the mood with a nasty cackle.

"So…after so many pointless bouts, you've finally come to your senses. I told you that your puny powers are no match for mine," she said mockingly as she eyed the little collection of stones lying just in front of Jason's feet.

"Our powers individually may be no match for you…but collectively, we have the greatest power in the universe!" Jason boasted as he reached around to his back and pulled out his wooden piccolo from the rear pocket. The Red Phoenix looked at him peculiarly.

"So what exactly have you planned this time? I thought you were giving up?"

"Give up? I never said anything about giving up! This is far from over…" Jason scorned as he put his piccolo to his lips and began playing his mother's lullaby. As the sweet tune rang out over the meadow all three of them began feeling strange tingling pains. Littlefoot's eyes began to sting, Jill's hands felt like they were burning and Jason started to feel his chest pulling tight directly over his heart. Ignoring the pain, he continued his blissful tune that echoed all around them as the winds danced over the meadow carrying the music with it.

"What's going on? What's Jason doing?" Cera asked stupefied.

"He is playing his mother's song," Ducky sighed contently allowing her mind to wander freely with the music.

"But why? What's he trying to do?" Cera asked still perplexed.

"Look! Look what happening!" Petrie gawked pointing at Littlefoot and the others.

"The stones…they are moving! Without anyone touching them!" Ali gasped in awe. The gang all leapt forward. As Ali had described, the three Stones of Essence were levitating off the ground and were beginning to circle each other. They spun around each other, faster and faster, each stone leaving a glistening, ribbon-like streak behind in their motion.

Jason forced himself to concentrate over the burning he was feeling that was almost crippling. If he broke off before the end of the song, his efforts would all have been for nothing. He knew Jill and Littlefoot were suffering too but this was his last chance. Nearing the end of his mother's melody, the three stones were orbiting each other so fast, a white light began emanating from them and it was consuming them in a blinding ball. The light was so bright, it illuminated the entire meadow despite the black and grey clouds patching the sky. Jason played his final note and dropped to his hands and knees exhausted and breathless. He looked up at the ball of white light that had replaced the three stones whilst the cool, crisp air massaged his searing airways. The pain slowly dissipated allowing Jason, Jill and Littlefoot to stand upright but their attention was snatched by a number of vicious lightning strikes that shot from the stormy heavens and crashed just inches from the ball of light. Suddenly, the sky crackled lividly and a huge bolt of lightning hit the ball as if it were a spherical lightning rod. The ball erupted forcing everyone witnessing the marvel to shield their eyes. The glare gradually cleared and there, floating before them roughly half way between Jason, Jill and Littlefoot and the Red Phoenix was the thin, pyramid comprised of three golden triangles dripping glistening stars known only as,

"Heaven's Eternity Crystal…" Littlefoot gaped with wide eyes.

"So…you summoned it! You brought it here for me to complete with each of your life force. How very kind of you," the Red Phoenix beamed holding out her right hand to psychically pull it towards her but to her shock, the glittering, golden pyramid stayed exactly where it was, "what? What is this?"

"The crystal has been formed and it is fully charged," Jason announced boldly, "each of us surrendered our power to create it again unlike last time when you and Westwood merely stole them from us and used a measly sound recording. This is the real deal."

"But…I didn't surrender my power! Why have I been stripped of mine?" the Red Phoenix muttered staring at her hands.

"Have you forgotten? You're power is a residual product of our true powers. Whether you like it or not, you gave up yours without a say in the matter," Jill smirked. The Red Phoenix dipped her head and shut her eyes. A somewhat impressed smirk slowly grew across her face.

"Ahhh…I see now. I see the method in your thinking. With my power now gone, you feel you three can now take me on, am I correct?" she said without even glancing at them.

"Yeah!" Littlefoot yelled hopping forwards.

"You can be sure of that!" Jill added clenching her fists.

"NO!" Jason shouted objectively stepping in front of both of them. Littlefoot and Jill both turned to him perplexed.

"Huh? Whad'dya mean Jason?" Littlefoot asked striding up alongside him.

"I told you before, this is my fight. You've all fought enough," he said bitterly.

"But Jason…we fight together," Jill argued.

"This is a personal matter. As much as we've fought together up until now…I feel I'm the one who should end this…"

"C'mon kid!" Jill snapped but Littlefoot interrupted.

"No Jill. Let him do it. This is something Jason feels he has to do," he told her looking rather solemn. Jill looked at him for some means of an explanation, "he…Jason's suffered a great pain like I have. It really does hurt unlike anything else. Mine is now gone but I can tell, Jason, he feels it is time for him to end his too." Jill looked helpless.

"You can tell that?" Littlefoot nodded in response. He looked to Jason and smiled and he smiled back touched and grateful at his words.

"I really don't understand you kids," Jill sighed in defeat, her well of trust dwindling but still faintly present about their current situation. The strengthening smiles on both their faces was enough to prove they knew what they were doing. All the while, the Red Phoenix's signature smile turned into a malicious grin.

Chapter 76: An Invisible Death Blow 

"So, with your elaborate plan in full effect, what exactly do you propose to do with our powers encased in this magnificent artefact of the ancients? I'm sure you know just as well as I do that your energy is in there too."

"Yeah I'm aware of that," Jason said strongly finally turning to face her having had his back to her for the majority of his conversation with Jill and Littlefoot.

"I was flattered by your little speech about my knowledge on the Stones of Essence and you seem fairly confident in your plan," she continued to drawl, smile ceasing to fade. Jason didn't answer. His nerves were on fire, which in turn, made his insides wriggle uncomfortably making him fidget.

"Tell me. You're blade? Will it still hold its charge now you've overcharged the battery past its maximum capacity?" Jason felt like he'd just swallowed a heavy stone as his stomach plummeted somewhere past his feet. He glanced at the plastic, black handle in his right hand and tried to activate it but it fizzled feebly without producing even a flicker of a concentrated energy blade. Jason cursed himself through clenched teeth. He'd never even considered that once he'd breached the Laser Blade's maximum charge that he would've obliterated its ability to store anymore.

"So…you're plan laid to waste? Or do you propose we grapple like a couple of petty thugs?" the Red Phoenix grinned folding her arms.

"Wait Jason," Littlefoot said to him lowly stepping alongside him once more, "you can still make it work." Jason looked at him a little taken aback but Littlefoot swung his head over to the centre of the field, not saying a word. Following his gaze, Jason looked up at the floating pyramid of glistening gold that hovered patiently in between them and the Red Phoenix. Jason locked eyes with Littlefoot once more finally catching on to this idea. The young longneck smiled but he gasped suddenly, eyes focused ahead. Without warning, he shot off into the meadow.

"Hey Littlefoot! Whad'dya…" Jason started watching him shoot past him.

"Jason! The Red Phoenix!" Jill yelled urgently. Jason, horrified, saw Littlefoot sprinting towards the Heaven's Eternity Crystal with the Red Phoenix doing exactly the same in the opposite direction. Jason dug his heels deep into the ground to kick off as hard as he could to sprint after Littlefoot.

Just ahead of him, Littlefoot's mind was buzzing madly as he tore headlong into the deadly game of chicken which the Red Phoenix had already obtained an unexpected head start. His four feet pounded the ground with Jason not too far behind. He didn't dare break eye contact with his shimmering prize just in front of him. He'd appeared to have made up lost ground but it was going to be breath-takingly close. The spectators of the gripping race drew sharp breaths as they came within a few metres of the golden pyramids. The Red Phoenix threw out her hand to reach for it but she was clearly out of range. Suddenly, the sickly snaking tentacle burst from the palm of her outstretched hand and it made a beeline for the Heaven's Eternity Crystal at high speed. The thunderstorm clattered noisily overhead like great sparking fireworks as Littlefoot gritted his teeth and forced every ounce of energy through to his galloping feet, pushing himself to go faster. Littlefoot saw the lower right-hand gold triangle flush blue as he and the Red Phoenix's tentacle came within reaching distance. It was going to be down to the wire. Littlefoot was nearly upon it but so was the Red Phoenix. Littlefoot's brain drained of thought; he closed his eyes and stretched out his neck as far was he could.

The two racers made contact and the raging storm shot a bolt of lightning from the blackened clouds; it were as if it was nature's way of waving a chequered flag to signal the end of the pulse-pounding race for the golden treasure. The meadow was once again engulfed in an unbearably bright light that forced everyone to shield their eyes.

"Littlefoot!" Jason shouted skidding to a stop and throwing his arms over his face. Both Littlefoot and the Red Phoenix had been swallowed at the centre of the white light. For a tense few seconds, there was absolute silence but as the curtain of light slowly lifted, a high-pitched ringing sound shot out across the Green Meadow like a power source beginning to flow. Braving the glare as it began to break up, everyone looked to where the Heaven's Eternity Crystal had been beforehand which was still shrouded in the white light. From the very centre, faint blue wisps of spiralling vapour began to radiate out. The light had fully disappeared and in its wake were two figures. One laying on the floor on its back and the other stood tall with numerous blue glittering ribbons of light rising and spinning around its body as if they were standing at the centre of steam-emitting vent. All eyes looked on as they all watched, their mouths stretched from awestruck gapes to gleeful smiles. The one standing at the centre of the corkscrewing cylinder of glowing blue ribbons was Littlefoot. At his feet was the Red Phoenix who glowered at him helpless and defeated.

"He did it!" Ali cried overjoyed as cheers erupted over the Green Meadow. The gang danced around each other in triumph. Jason beamed at Littlefoot as the little dinosaur quickly searched around for a clue to what had just happened. He gazed rather dumbly at the celebrating crowd but as he adjusted his focus to the blue barrier surrounding him, he gave a shy smile.

"Way to go Littlefoot!" Jason hollered over to him cupping his hands over his mouth to throw his voice. Littlefoot continued to gleam as the blue slithers of light spun faster and shrunk directly into his torso.

Lost in the moment of success, both of them failed to notice the Red Phoenix getting to her feet.

"Littlefoot! Jason! Look!" Jill shouted to them. They whirled around just in time to see the Red Phoenix's outstretched hand make contact with the lower-left hand gold triangle which flickered green.

"You may have beaten me to your power Littlefoot but the spiritual essence of the Summoner's Soul Emerald is mine!" she cackled as her body became illuminated in a forest green beam of light. Her body began to levitate off the ground as the spinning cylinder, identical to Littlefoot's except green, began to shrink and she seemed to absorb it through her skin. Her entire figure glowed a sharp shade of green before she dropped to the ground. Littlefoot, thunderstruck by her sudden reappearance, took an apprehensive step back as she snapped an icy glare at him. With her power restored, she smirked evilly as she dashed over to him and delivered a nasty back-fisted hit across Littlefoot's face knocking him over. Littlefoot winced with the blow, his cheek stung unpleasantly and his eyes watered. Trying to get the pain to subside quicker, Littlefoot suddenly found a shadow stretched over him. He gaped fearfully as he lay on his side staring up at the Red Phoenix whose right hand was glowing a vibrant, green.

"No! Littlefoot!" Jason cried taking off to head towards him but it was easy to see that he would not reach him in time.

"No more games Littlefoot!" she spat; her tone was fierce and angry, "you and your friends will perish by my hand!" Her voice boomed with the shaking skyline as the same tentacle the Red Phoenix brandished as a weapon previously shot from the palm of her glowing hand. The green light wrapped itself around the tentacle encasing it in a magic sheath once more. Frozen with fear, Littlefoot stared, eyes wide, at the Red Phoenix as she raised her weapon to strike. Littlefoot's breathing suddenly stopped; the air was trapped in his throat and his heart was thumping hard and loud under his ribs. The crowd gasped horrified.

"Littlefoot!" his grandparents cried.

"No! Littlefoot!" all his friends wailed.

"Litttleefooooott!" Jason screamed from behind still sprinting madly to try and reach him. The Red Phoenix's eyes swelled with malice as she dropped the blade and swung at his head. The world blurred in front of Littlefoot's eyes as the voices screaming his name rang long in his brain.

"Nooooooo!" Littlefoot screeched slamming his eyes shut in pure fright. Suddenly, the winds picked up and a strong blast shot up from Littlefoot's fallen position. As the Red Phoenix's blade was due to strike, something shimmered before Littlefoot. The attack came crashing down on top of him but it halted inches from his forehead. By the sound, it seemed like the weapon had clashed with another surface. Looking up, Littlefoot found a transparent, convex wall arched over his head. It had shielded him from the blow but the Red Phoenix's tentacle appeared to be cemented to it. The Red Phoenix was trying with all her strength to yank it off but she was stuck fast. Littlefoot was holding her in.

"Wha-what is this!" she shrieked fretfully but her anxiety quickly switched to anger as she raised her other hand which sparked lividly.

"You!" she growled.

"Help me!" Littlefoot cried desperately.

"Littlefoot! Heads up!" he heard a voice cry. Turning, Littlefoot saw Jason nearly on top of them. His hand was extended at full reach but the Red Phoenix's hand was high and ready to strike. Jason's palm slapped on to the top golden triangle of the hovering crystal which flashed blood red.

"Littlefoot!" he yelled but Littlefoot seemed to understand before he could say anything more. With a blink, the protective barrier above him erupted and shattered like glass throwing the Red Phoenix off-balance backwards. Her arms flew up wildly as she attempted to regain composure but at that moment, Jason charged in just as a red, glittering, spiralling cylinder drew itself into his body. Streaming past Littlefoot, Jason activated his Laser Blade, which immediately produced a blue, overcharged energy blade, and swung it horizontally out to his right hand side…

For a split second, the world froze in its tracks as if time itself had been destroyed. The Red Phoenix's eyes grew large with extreme shock. Everything and around the Green Meadow froze as if an artic wind had blown over it encasing everything in ice. Every living creature in the area had become statutes staring out into the meadow. Jill jogged up to Jason and Littlefoot who stood, side by side, trembling slightly, unable to speak a word. It had all happened so fast. They glanced at the Red Phoenix who stood holding her abdomen. Gingerly, she removed her clamped hands from off her stomach to reveal a great scorching cut across her torso which was bleeding quite heavily. Hypnotised by her terrified gaze, Jason eyed the Red Phoenix strangely. He was so confused. He felt incredibly hollow like he had nothing contained within him. No bones, no internal organs, no emotions; just an empty shell stood before the Red Phoenix as she began to waver unsteadily.

"Jason…the crystal," Littlefoot said. Jason blinked once or twice to break his trance and looked at the golden pyramid. All three triangles glistened their respective shades (red up top, green to the lower-left and blue to the bottom-right) as all of them approached.

"N…no!" the Red Phoenix gurgled lurching forward but her wound pulled tight forcing her to drop to her knees. Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"How are we gonna remove my power from her?" Jill said looking at the Red Phoenix who was doubled up on the ground in excruciating pain, "I doubt she'll give it up willingly."

"Don't worry, I know how," Jason said coarsely. He placed his hand on the top triangle and with his other hand, he pulled his piccolo out of his pocket.

"Come on," he signalled to them. Silently, Jill and Littlefoot touched their respective stones. The Red Phoenix continued to squeal in anger and pain as she watched them helplessly.

"Now what?" Jill asked.

"Just concentrate," Jason said. Closing his eyes, he gently rested the piccolo against his forehead and quietly began humming his mother's melody. Within seconds, Littlefoot found himself humming the tune in exact time and pitch as Jason. Before long, the music entrapped Jill in its haunting melody and she too began humming along. Strangely, to their surprise, a high-pitched, sweet tune began emanating from the little wooden pipe. It was playing Jason's song at its own accord. Slightly startled, Jason snapped his eyes open feeling the instrument giving a little tug. Jason opened his hand allowing it to float in mid-air, playing as if it where in the hands of a phantom. Littlefoot and Jill, who finally caught on to Jason's sudden stop by the time they'd reached the chorus, stared at the piccolo in a stunned silence. They began feeling a little peculiar. The hovering piccolo started to glow with a bright light and it started spreading to the three of them. Each of them eyed themselves and each other in awe. Their bodies began glowing too, each bathed in a warm growing aura of their stones' colours. The Red Phoenix's limp body shone the same shade of green as Jill's as she lay, face down, on the grass.

The melody piped up energetically as it approached the final chorus shooting a great beacon of light up into the sky, parting the clouds and dissolving them. Golden rays of sunlight pierced through the evaporating cloud cover, illuminating the land with a basking warmth welcomed by all who were stood witnessing the show of magic lights. The melody drew to a peaceful, long, final-noted end. The four glowing bodies swallowed their lights and a bright flash exploded from the Heaven's Eternity Crystal. As the light faded, Littlefoot, Jason and Jill, having removed their shielding limbs from their eyes, gawked at each other for a brief second then to their surroundings. The trio of golden triangles had disappeared from view leaving a gentle snowfall of glittering stars in its wake.

"Whoa!" Littlefoot breathed admirably.

"That was a light show big enough to make Broadway look like a night light," Jill beamed. Jason smiled but a glistening twinkle caught his eye. On the ground, lay each other their three stone exactly as they had been left shimmering in the gorgeous sunlight. He bent down to pick them up and, sliding his ruby pendent back over his head, he offered Jill and Littlefoot theirs in and outstretched open palm.

"That was amazing!" a voice came from behind Littlefoot making him jump.

"Enjoy the show then?" Jill said turning the remnants of the gang who came bounding over excitedly compared to the sluggish, apprehensive pace of he adults who all seemed reluctant to move forward.

"Wow-wee! Thas-ee was big!" Dinah exploded leaping so high she nearly flipped head over heels.

"Purrdee too!" Dana added with a wide grin.

"You all did very good! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky yapped merrily as Spike beamed nodding earnestly.

"You were very brave Littlefoot," Ali smiled. Littlefoot felt his stomach give a weird little hop at Ali's compliment.

"Oh well…I err…I just did what I had to do to help," he said very modestly, his face flushed very warm. He found it difficult to keep eye contact with her for longer than a few seconds.

"You were great Jason," Cera said, "and so were you Jill…Jill?" She glanced around to find Jill had shifted from where she was standing.

"Where'd she?" Cera mumbled but her question was swiftly answered when she turned to see Jill standing uncomfortably close to Stone who had his hands fastened tightly on her hips.

"Mission accomplished Serge," Jill said sweetly. She slowly removed her beret with one hand and quickly dropped it to the floor.

"A job well done lieutenant," Stone replied gently allowing Jill to sweep his own emblem-sewn beret off his own head. Without warning, Jill launched her face into Stone's and draped her arms over his broad shoulders locking each other in a kiss. Zephyr gazed up at his owner and whimpered curiously. Cera's jaw dropped open like a loose drawer. She turned to the group so fast she nearly toppled herself.

"What are they…! How long have they…! I mean…why are…? Did you guys know about this?" she bumbled stupefied.

"Uhh huuuhhhh," the gang hummed in harmonious unison, broad smiles etched into their faces. Jason shrugged as he caught Cera's dumbfounded gaze and Petrie perched on his shoulder to offer his congratulations. After many happy expressions and a few short explanatory stories, the crowd of dinosaurs looked to the three humans (and Zephyr).

"An incredible tale. One I'd never would've thought possible," Mr Threehorn said clearly impressed, "I never would've believed it if I hadn't seen it myself!"

"It's the stuff of legend!" another male dinosaur gawked.

"So, with all that has occurred, it is safe to assume that this is all over?" Grandpa Longneck asked innocently craning his great neck down to Jason's eye level but before he could answer, a nasty groaning noise like the sound of someone struggling with a heavy load, shot out from behind Jason. All heads snapped around to the source of the noise.

"…No…not just yet…" Jason said gravely looking over his shoulder. The Red Phoenix, was groaning and struggling to stand. She giddily clambered to her feet.

"…N-nooo!" she gurgled, "this…is not…over…yet."

"Oh no! She's still here!" Ali squeaked.

"Doesn't she know when to give up?" Cera barked indignantly.

"…Ja…Jason! This is not…we're not…finished…" she shrieked dangerously pointing at him as she trudged drunkenly over to him. All eyes fixed to Jason but he pretended he didn't notice them as he turned to face her, his expression tightening.

"Stone? Can I borrow your Blade?" he droned. Stone reached for his Laser Blade and after a nervous second, handed it to him.

"There's not much charge in it. I wouldn't rely on it too much," he warned.

"It'll be just enough," Jason said looking back to the Red Phoenix. She was wavering unstably towards them. Swivelling on his heels, he walked out to meet her. The gang wanted to take off after him but they automatically knew what Jason's reaction would be. The audience watched in an awed silence. Jason had stopped a few feet from the Red Phoenix as she took a couple more stumbling steps towards him and then stopped also. The re-absorption of the Stones' magic energy had completely healed her gaping wound in her stomach but she was acting as if the injury had been made even deeper.

For about a minute they stood staring each other down, neither one losing eye contact. The Red Phoenix grinned despite her instability which made Jason's fingertips tingle with anticipation. Just when it looked like the Red Phoenix was about to attack, she suddenly doubled up in pain clutching her injury point which was no longer visible. Everybody jumped slightly at her sudden folding, even Jason, unaware of his nervousness, was clenching his weapon a little tighter. The Red Phoenix's painful wailing gave way to panicking, short-drawn breaths as she looked up fearfully into Jason's face. His eyes met her panic-stricken mien and for a fraction of a second, he could have sworn, for the first time, he saw his mother staring back at him. The Red Phoenix winced in pain again and sank to her knees. All Jason's previous anger evaporated in an instant to make way for something more along the emotional lines of guilt and even regret. The Red Phoenix smiled weakly at him before falling limp and started to tumble backwards but to her great surprise (and that of everyone watching), Jason caught her before she hit the ground. The Red Phoenix glared at Jason with wide eyes as he held her head in his hand. She coughed sickeningly before finally finding her voice.

"I…I can't quite believe this…" she stammered slowly, "after…after everything…Jason…you…you would pity me now?"

"I…I can't say exactly for myself. It's hard for me to understand let alone explain," Jason said, his voice tracing hints of panic, "it seems as though, as much as I denied it before, without your powers, I could really see the mother I lost a long time ago. But, it was only at that instant, when my blade hit and I witnessed you at your most vulnerable. And just then, when you stared at me…when I saw you in pain. I…it was as if I saw your human side again." The Red Phoenix smiled again but choked on her next breath. Jason laid her down gently on the grass and watched as her expression turned stony and almost resentful.

"I never would have imagined that the three of you would be my match. Me…the greatest achievement of modern medical science. The first ever human being to undergo a full resurrection and continue life from the exact point where I had once had it ended…" Jason looked at her as his tidal wave of emotions lapped the shores of his brain again making everything difficult to comprehend. The Red Phoenix continued on raspy breaths.

"I was beaten by such bunch of naïve fools…a mere boy, a military thug and a child of an era long since past."

"You brought this on yourself!" Jason cried, his voice was shaking, "Your sole purpose was to kill! You killed me and you were going to do the same thing to everyone and everything I cared about! I…I had no choice…"

"Everything…all that I had envisioned…everything I had revealed to me once I obtained the true power…dashed and in tatters," the Red Phoenix began to croak before exploding, "you ruined it for me! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! What am I inferior to you in? The pain I felt and had to endure just to see the light of another day was not even enough to give me the honour of prolonging my own existence. I survived so many death-ridden trails…only…only to trip and fall at the final hurdle…all without so much as a simple reason why…"

"Any human could have achieved what you were hoping…but you even said it yourself that you don't consider yourself human anymore," Jason said gravely, "you lost the human part of your heart. You became a monster hell-bent on destruction. No destiny could proclaim such a prophecy. Not if it meant the end of the world."

"Well…it looks like…I'll never get to accomplish what was so painfully scored into the back of my mind. I can see that now…a blind ambition with not even a trace of genuineness. I simply followed orders to the slaughter. Maybe I didn't have as much control as I liked to have believed," the Red Phoenix said bitterly, "there's nothing left for me now…nothing." Jason just looked at her, his insides squirmed within him making him feel sick to his stomach.

"I hope…with your existence that somehow defies my own, that the power of those wretched stones haunts you. All of you! And I pray for the day this disgusting, pitiful world you have created will turn its back on you and be your demise…" the Red Phoenix hissed hatefully.

Jason was speechless. The words he had just had spat at him hit him with a horrible strength he hadn't anticipated but for some reason, the guilt in him multiplied exponentially rather than the overwhelming sense of anger he had expected. From his crouched position, he tried to catch the Red Phoenix's eye but her head was turned away from him.

"Why don't you just kill me now? If this is the way the world is going to have to be…I'd rather not be a part of it," she said indignantly.

"Fine…if that's how you'd prefer it…I will!" Jason shouted trying his utmost to overpower the guilty conscience screaming in his head.

Cautiously, Jason rose up to standing and looked at the Laser Blade handle in his hand. The onlookers who had been listening to the entire conversation, all held their breath as Jason activated the energy weapon, which flickered an unhealthy pale red, and dangled it in the palms of his hands directly over the Red Phoenix's chest. The Red Phoenix remained silent not looking as Jason hesitated to make the final strike. He tried with all his might to suppress the screaming of his conscience by fighting back with thoughts and plausible reasons that his killing her was the only way. His brain fogged up with confusion. He had to do it but the command was lost somewhere in the dense matter of sounds, visions and thoughts ringing in his head. Jason shook his head violently to try and unscramble the mental noise. Inching the blade slowly upwards, the audience looked on as Jason shut his eyes tight and let out a terrified cry and plunged the blade downward. Hardly able to look anymore, the crowd gasped in horror and amazement. Jason slowly opened his eyes to see what he had just done but the Laser Blade had not hit its target. Instead, the very tip of the blade was hovering, hardly a quarter of an inch, above the Red Phoenix's exposed chest. The Red Phoenix rotated her head to look at Jason as he stood over her panting and looking extremely shaken.

"Why'd you stop? What's with you?" she barked irritably, "Just…kill me…" Jason took an unsteady step backwards and shook his head defiantly.

"You can't do it can you?" she sneered reading the frightened expression on his flushed face.

"…Jason…" Littlefoot sighed sorrowfully.

"You're going to regret that decision kid! You said all along that you wanted to end it. You wanted the satisfaction of knowing that you set your mother free and now given the perfect chance…you can't do it…" Jason's body turned icy but it seemed to calm him. His brain was no longer buzzing with the electricity of thought and everything seemed perfectly clear and in focus. With a deep breath, Jason allowed the Laser Blade to dangle inoffensively by his side where the battery final gave in and it fizzed out.

"No…you're wrong. I'm afraid, it is you who is sadly mistaken Red Phoenix," Jason said unthreateningly, "my fight is already over and I have already set my mother free." The crowd mumbled in a perplexed drone.

"What? What are you talking about?" the Red Phoenix glowered quickly followed by a nasty whooping cough.

"That final hit…that was it. With that, I saw my mother's figure flash before my eyes. It was like a signal to me that I didn't get at first. There is nothing left between me and you. You're just another disgusting mutant to crawl out of that hellhole Red Phoenix Labs. You're no more superior than those zombified scientists."

"What did you say! How DARE you compare me to those lowly simpletons!" the Red Phoenix spat lividly.

"You were created in that lab by the Red Phoenix Corporation just like all the others. And it is that same establishment that will be your end. Just as you killed Westwood…the one who brought you to life will be your executioner...not me. Strange how irony always seems to work out."

"What are you…" the Red Phoenix began but her body suddenly gave a horrible lurch as she felt her skin shoot up to a feverish temperature and she began sweating profusely. Suddenly, she lurched up again and started coughing into her hands. She drew a sharp panicked breath when she found blood on them.

"What? What's…happening…to me!" she gasped horrified as she felt her whole body give another strange shudder like a pulse of electricity flooding her nervous system. It almost felt like there were creatures crawling under her skin. Shivering uncontrollably, the Red Phoenix cast a frightened expression at Jason who was simply looking at her neither contented, fearful nor panicked.

"It's begun…" he said calmly without fluttering an eyelid.

"What? What did you…do to me?" the Red Phoenix quivered coughing, once again producing a bloody cloud.

"I've done nothing to you. You are merely following the same fate as all the other members of the Red Phoenix Corporation; blinded by their own superiority and lust for power," Jason scolded, If I remember correctly, Westwood said there were two components to your returning to life; one was a special vector to resurrect and the other was the power of the Stones of Essence to maintain the vector. Since your power has been removed, the very same vector that reanimated your body and kept you from passing on to the next life has become unstable." Jason then ducked to crouch next to the suffering Red Phoenix and spoke directly into her panic-flushed face slowly and potently.

"Do you remember? Remember what that vector was?"

"…N-n…nooo…" the Red Phoenix gasped horrified, her eyes swelled in realising fright, "the…the…super…the super…virus!" Jason nodded glumly. The Red Phoenix's words seemed to ring out over the meadow like they were all trapped in a tight, tall canyon.

"The virus responsible for the outbreak in London is the same thing Westwood used on her to bring her back?" Stone gaped.

"The very same," Jill verified, "Westwood and Baxter must have given the same sample to our other squadron members after butchering them all first somehow." Jason nodded at Jill and then stood up, his gaze refocused on the Red Phoenix.

"Having my mother's knowledge and witnessing my younger siblings deaths, you should be aware of the vicious nature of the virus," Jason warned but before the Red Phoenix could reply, she gave a sickening twitch. Her skin felt irritable and sticky as giant red blisters began forming on the surface of her body like giant bubbles rising in a cauldron's mixture. Suddenly, the Red Phoenix screamed in pain as one of the giant blisters on her right forearm exploded in a bloody explosion leaving a gaping crater in her flesh. The audience gasped in horrific disgust at the sight of more blisters erupting leaving great gouges in the Red Phoenix's figure like a rabid animal were devouring her alive. The gang were deadlocked into a awestruck gaze unlike the Threehorn Twins who had dived behind Cera's back legs to distance themselves from the gory scene.

"What's happening to her?" Ali asked barely able to utter more than a breathy whisper.

"The virus…the thing responsible for all the monsters we've seen and fought both here and at headquarters. The same thing was inside the Red Phoenix keeping her alive when kept in check with the power from the Stones of Essence," Jill explained almost cringing at the sight of exploding flesh, "with her power removed, the virus has become unstable and now its returning to its initial destructive design."

"Me geddit. Now her magic power gone, the sickness no longer under control," Petrie cawed. Jill confirmed with a nod.

"So…you mean she is…" Ducky began but couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Littlefoot's eyes shot from the Red Phoenix up to Jason who began to turn and walk away.

"No…" a voice cried from behind Jason. He looked back around to see the Red Phoenix in tears as the virus continued to destroy her body from the inside out. "Jason please…you can't…leave me like this! Please!" she sobbed.

"There's nothing between me and you now Phoenix," Jason said coldly, "besides, the virus has already gone into full effect…nothing can help you now."

"Jason PLEASE!…Just kill me now…I don't…I don't want to…suffer…anymore…PLEASE! I beg of you!" the Red Phoenix cried desperately but her words made Jason snap around at lightning-quick speed.

"How dare you beg for help!" he shouted hotly, his voice was losing its strength and began to tremble, "How can you plead for assistance? Beg for a quick death after all the pain you put me through! The pain you put ALL of us through! And the lives you were so willing to rob without giving it so much as a second thought! How can you ask for anything more?" Jason fearing his emotions would overrule, turned away but before he could take a step, the Red Phoenix called to him again.

"…Please. You can't…leave it like this…" Jason froze for a minute. Had her words gotten to him?

The gang all adjusted their focus onto Jason, all watching carefully and attentively for his reaction. Littlefoot felt his heart sink at the thought that maybe Jason had regretted his decision but he watched him shut his eyes and heard him take a deep breath. On exhaling slowly, Jason opened his eyes again and Littlefoot felt relieved to see him take another step towards the gang without even glancing over his shoulder. Littlefoot began to walk out to meet him.

"…Jason?" he asked semi-apprehensive.

"Littlefoot…" Jason replied wearing a sweet, sincere smile, "it's finally over."

The Red Phoenix continued to writhe and scream behind Jason as he gazed up at his entranced audience.

"Well done kid. I was beginning to worry about what you were gonna do. Thought you might take it a bit too far," Sergeant Stone said impressed by his actions.

"Thanks. I was a little worried myself at first but I was determined for her not to get to me…not again," Jason smiled, "here's your blade back. Guess I didn't need it after all."

"You did good Jason. You did as you wished in ending your fight and freeing your mother. That took a lot of bravery and you came through," Jill congratulated.

"I had you all behind me. There was no way I could fail with you guys backing me up," Jason replied. He turned from Jill to the gang (who were all beaming) and finally came to rest on Littlefoot who was standing beside him. Littlefoot's smile widened which quickly spread to Jason's face. Not a word had to be spoken but the young longneck silently applauded him and hi, in return, replied with a muted thanks.

As the moment grew in the glistening beams of the sun, Jason was alarmed to see Littlefoot's face turn stony and rigid from shock. Air seemed to be escaping Littlefoot's mouth but hardly a sound could be heard. Scanning down his body, Jason gasped in horror at the sight of what appeared to be an extremely long, thick worm sticking out of Littlefoot's right side around the lower region of his ribs. Jason locked eyes with Littlefoot as the little brontosaurus began to waver unsteadily.

"…Jason…" he breathed airlessly.

"…Littlefoot…" Jason gasped silently before exploding, "NNNNOOOOOO!" The blood-covered worm extracted itself from Littlefoot's side with a sickening rip and cracked backwards like a whip on Jason's scream.

"PHHOOEEENNIIXX!" he bellowed spinning around but as he completed his half turn, the worm attacked and plunged itself into the left side of Jason's chest. Tracing the body of the bloodstained worm, they all followed it back to the palm of the Red Phoenix's right hand. Her body was barely recognisable from the pocket-holes left in her flesh but the exploding blisters had now stopped.

"My dear boy. You…and your…beloved friend…will…suffer…the same fate…as I…" the Red Phoenix choked weakly, "in…your deaths…and rebirths…and with… both your powers…you will…continue…my work…where I…have left it…" With that, she retracted her tentacle and finally flopped to the ground unleashing one long, last breath before lying completely still.

"Littlefoot! Jason!" the gang cried as they collapsed to the ground.

"Oh no! Littlefoot! Jason!" Grandma and Grandpa Longneck whimpered in dismay. Jill and Stone dashed forward to take charge; Jill taking Jason and Stone seeing to Littlefoot.

"Jeez! They're in shock! We've gotta act fast!" Jill barked opening one of Jason's eyes fully, "Pupils are dilated and aren't responding!"

"Littlefoot's breathing is sounding difficult! His pulse is flying!" Stone reported loudly as he fought with Littlefoot's shaking body. Suddenly, his head fell limp and lolled to one side.

"Crap! He just lost consciousness! Jill! This poor kid's a wreck! They need medical attention NOW!"

"Jason stay with me! STAY AWAKE!" Jill shouted at him but he promptly passed out as well, "Dammit! Jason's crashed out too. They're both infected with the virus. If they don't receive proper treatment, they'll be dead in under an hour!"

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" Ducky cried holding her head in her hands as Spike whimpered crestfallen.

"This can't be happening!" Ali whispered horror-struck.

"No! Littlefoot…Jason…No go!" Petrie wailed.

"Won't any of this stuff help?" Cera cried desperately, flinging Jason's bag at Jill.

"There's no time! They need to…" Stone began but he was horrified to see Littlefoot's condition worsen, "Crap! Jill, we're losing 'em! Littlefoot's just stopped breathing!"

"I've lost Jason's pulse! His heart's stopped beating. They're deteriorating faster than expected!" Jill called back as she started to attempt to resuscitate him. The gang and their folks looked on helplessly and downfallen at the lifeless bodies of Jason and Littlefoot. The gang couldn't believe, after everything they had all been through together, this would be where their adventures, as an unbreakable team, would finally end.

Chapter 77: Riddles from the Darkness 

All was dark. A deep, never-ending blackness that failed to show even the smallest glimmer of light. Nothing became of the darkness, no land, no sky and no life except for a single figure that lay suspended in the black. Not one lifeline seemed to ring out from this lifeless corpse but suddenly, the body twitched and became animate again. Slowly, and drearily, as if it had awoken from centuries of slumber, the figure craned its head up and surveyed its lack of surrounding though weary eyes.

"Wh-what…what happened? Where am I?" it said examining the blank atmosphere and then its aching, entropy-riddled body that seemed reluctant to shift. Straining as every muscle creaked into action, the figure slowly pushed itself onto its four feet, unfurled its tail and held its head high on its long neck.

"What is this place? Where is everyone?" Littlefoot said aloud, semi-hoping that someone would hear him.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he called but the only reply he got was his own voice echoing inexplicably through the nothingness, "HEEEEEEYYYYY! Someone!…Anyone!" still no answer. "Grandma! Grandpa!…Cera? Ducky?…Spike, Petrie, Ali?…Jason?…" he cried but yet again, nothing. Littlefoot began to feel extremely vulnerable and self-conscious; he was all alone. He didn't want to be alone. The thought of having no one next to him filled him with fear. Fear of being attacked with no help even though there was nothing to be scared of. An icy chill ran down his spine at the thought of something watching him; he didn't feel safe. Just as he was about to call out again, to his great relief, Littlefoot heard the faint sound of someone calling his name. Due to the quietness of it, the summoning voice was impossible to identify but it seemed to be getting closer and growing louder.

"Who's there?" Littlefoot shouted to where he thought the voice was emanating from. Despite him acting defensive, it brought him comfort that someone was there with him but the sense of security was quickly displaced when Littlefoot heard a low hissing from behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder nervously but he quickly wished he hadn't when he saw a number of evil, glaring pairs of eyes snap open in the pitch black. Shrieking, Littlefoot sped off in the opposite direction as the eyes began pairing up with gleaming, wide mouths all revealing dangerous sets of flesh-tearing teeth.

Unsure to where he was running, Littlefoot heard the beckoning voice shouting his name again. It sounded much closer and was becoming more distinct and recognisable but it sounded as if the voice was hurried and restless as if whomever the voice belonged to were running and calling at the same time. Was it in some sort of danger? Having heard the voice much closer now, Littlefoot felt his stomach leap a little. As he cantered forwards, someone in the distance ahead of him was running towards him. It was standing very upright and only two limbs appeared to be hitting some means of an invisible floor.

"Is that?" Littlefoot whispered to himself almost squinting to try and focus on the figure in the distance now not too far away. Its voice rang out again but this time he was sure he knew who it was.

"…Jason! Jason, it's you!" he cried with soaring spirits.

"Littlefoot! I found you at last!" Jason beamed jogging up to meet him face to face, Littlefoot doing the same from the opposite way. To their surprise, as they approached each other and got close enough to touch, there was a loud DONK noise like the sound of something hitting a glass panel without breaking it. Somehow, Littlefoot and Jason had hit a surface that appeared to be in between them, separating them.

"Ahhh…what?" Littlefoot hissed in pain and then awe looking to see what they could have possibly collided with. Having massaged the feeling back into his numb face, Jason cautiously raised a hand up in front of him and quickly withdrew it as his fingertips brushed lightly over something standing solidly before him. Littlefoot, from the other side, watched confusedly as he saw the pads of Jason's hand flatten on what appeared to be an invisible surface.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked lifting a foot and pressing it on the strange, transparent wall.

"An invisible barrier of some sort," Jason reported tapping the wall with a knuckle. Suddenly, a deafening screech shot out from the darkness forcing Littlefoot and Jason to hop back from the barrier.

"What's that? What is this place?" Littlefoot breathed, cringing as the screech erupted again.

"I don't know," Jason replied throwing his hands over his ears, "I can't remember how we…" He stopped in mid-sentence. Something just clicked but it made him shudder with sickening dread. The wailing and screeching continued as Jason looked down at Littlefoot's right side. There, just to the right of the imaginary divide between his stomach and chest, was a gaping hole where it looked like something had tried to burrow its way into Littlefoot's thoracic cavity; it was bloody and raw-looking.

"Littlefoot! Your side! It's…" Jason gasped pointing at the wound. Littlefoot craned his neck down and looked at his belly and screamed at the sight of a great chunk of his flesh missing.

"What! What…happened to me!" he wailed horrified glancing back up at Jason but then, he noticed a similar, bloody gouge high on Jason's chest. Following his gaze, Jason thrust his right hand on the tear in his clothes and skin looking terrified.

"Oh no Littlefoot," he breathed airlessly, his eyes bulging with panic, "the fight in the meadow…she…I…I think…I think we're…dead!"

"No! We…we can't be! We can't be dead!" Littlefoot exclaimed, "We're still moving! We're still talking to each other! How can we be dead!"

"I don't know but, maybe…" Jason started but his attention was quickly pulled to another loud shriek that rang out much longer and higher pitched than the last. Littlefoot and Jason instantly forgot about their fatal injuries and dropped to their knees clutching their ears. The pitch was becoming painful as it reverberated and buzzed in their heads. All of a sudden, the shrieking ceased, wrapping the void in a suffocating blanket of forced silence. Littlefoot and Jason precariously lifted their hands (and forefeet) from their ears and cautiously looked in the direction from where the audible missile had erupted. To their surprise, there was a small circle of white light hanging in the darkness which looked a lot closer than it really was. It was difficult to tell since there was nothing on which to gauge the distance. Littlefoot and Jason gave each other quick dumbfounded glances before readjusting their focus back on the light which seemed to be radiating out like a light-emitting star. Before either of them could speak, a heavenly-toned, feminine voice echoed over the perplexed two.

"Two worlds…one planet…" it rang sweetly resonating throughout the void like they were standing in a narrow corridor. Littlefoot and Jason stared at each other again, their voices still stuck somewhere in their throats. The light, then, seemed to withdraw slightly and pull in on itself as if it were due to collapse but it suddenly exploded, throwing out a white ring from its equator that flooded the area. Littlefoot and Jason were worried at first. They didn't know whether to dodge the pulse or not but it passed directly through them causing them no damage. As the ring dissipated into the blackness, a growing rumbling started emanating from the white light. Littlefoot and Jason braced themselves as a roaring wind shot right into them head-on. The initial blast was so strong, they were nearly swept off their feet. The gale-force gusts continued to thrash against them as Jason threw his arms over his face and Littlefoot turned his head to the side still trying to squint at the light that appeared to be going haywire.

"What's…going on?" Littlefoot shouted over the battling winds.

"Not a clue!" Jason yelled back, "Who was that woman who spoke to us?"

"I don't know," Littlefoot cried.

The winds began to die down so the two of them could stand upright again.

"What was that all about?" Jason said lowering his shielding arms. Littlefoot just shrugged as the angelic voice sang out again.

"Two worlds…one planet…"

"Wait! Who are you!" Jason shouted up into the air.

"Erm…Jason?" Littlefoot hummed a little unnerved, "Can you feel the ground shaking?" He was right. Jason could feel the ground beneath him quaking and it was getting stronger.

"Look, there!" Jason warned pointing at the light, "Something's coming this way, and fast!" Littlefoot snapped his eyes back to the light. Something was indeed hurtling its way directly at them.

"What is it? You think it's dangerous?" Littlefoot whimpered nervously.

"Can't say but I'd prefer not to stick around to find out," Jason said turning to start running with Littlefoot quickly following his lead but as they kicked off to flee, it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere. With nothing passing them, it was like they were sprinting flat out but remained in the same place.

"Are we actually moving?" Littlefoot wheezed.

"Don't feel like it does it," Jason replied breathlessly. They both stopped to recover for a second and looked back at the light. Whatever was chasing them was still there and they hadn't appeared to have gained any ground.

"What is that thing?" Littlefoot cried exasperatedly.

"I don't know but we can't outrun it," Jason said. As it got closer, it seemed to be panning out sideways and was picking up speed. A gust of rushing wind hit them both in the face as it charged on now nearly upon them. Littlefoot and Jason screamed in fright tucking themselves into tight defensive balls as it finally rolled over them. It sped past at a blinding pace like a speeding train but both of them, from their squat positions, passed directly in between what looked like a massive rush of colours all at variable heights. Littlefoot and Jason, whilst slightly fighting with the roaring wind, assumed more natural stances and gawked at the blur of shades shooting past their line of sight. Although moving at the same speeds, there was a definite contrast on each side of the invisible divide between Littlefoot and Jason. Littlefoot's side was a rush of leafy-greens and natural earth-bound colours whereas Jason's side was a flurry of colours of more stony-grey shades. The vision of these colours zipping past was equivalent to watching a racing train tearing past a station platform as the colours began to take some means of solidity. It seemed to be building a scenery.

After a while, the wind stopped and the black void of nothingness had instantly transformed into two vivid inhabitable environments.

"Whoa!" Littlefoot gasped awestruck. His side of the barrier was filled with tall trees all with bushy, healthy-looking canopies complete with a crystal-clear flowing river, a large open field of dancing blades of grass on a sweet breeze with a ring of towering mountains spiking the sky-blue horizon in a haphazard arrangement.

"It's…the Great Valley!" he beamed overjoyed to see his homeland. He looked over at Jason who was entranced by his surroundings consisting of mile-high skyscrapers, concrete streets and roads bending and twisting their way deeper into the mass of shops and buildings that mimicked the path of the roadlamp-littered pavement. Vehicles parked on the sides of the roads adding to the urban decoration of the human establishment.

"No way…" Jason breathed flabbergasted, "The City of London…exactly how I remember it! The way it was before the viral outbreak!" Littlefoot and Jason excitedly surveyed their home worlds before looking at each other.

"What brought us here?" Littlefoot asked confusedly, "What's going on?"

"I'm just as stumped as you Littlefoot," Jason admitted as humans suddenly materialised on the street from out of nowhere, going about their daily lives as normal. Similarly, herds of varying species of dinosaurs began appearing in the field and in and around the trees acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Littlefoot looked to a dinosaur to his immediate left that had made him jump as it chomped its way through the leafy bushes. It was going to blindly bump into him. Littlefoot quickly apologised and hopped to one side but he gasped in shock to see his tail pass right through the grazing dinosaur.

"What!" Littlefoot gaped wiggling his tail to check it was really there as the dinosaur plodded off to find another source of sustenance. He was about to turn to Jason but he had already let out a frightful yelp and backed into the invisible barrier which promptly threw him forward again.

"That bloke walked right through me!" he wailed looking as though someone had just slapped him in the face.

"My tail went through that spiketail," Littlefoot announced in a similar, shocked tone.

"This…this doesn't make sense. Do we not exist? Or is this all some sort of weird illusion?" Jason said now panicking a little.

"Could we really be dead? Could we be ghosts?"

"No! This can't be real! We can't…" he began but the same female's sweet voice rang out again uttering the same message.

"Two worlds…one planet…"

"Two worlds, one planet?" Littlefoot reiterated but then Jason snapped his fingers.

"I get it. It's our two eras Littlefoot," he said explosively, but Littlefoot looked at him clearly thrown off, "don't you get it? Yours and mine. The Great Valley and London, 2113." Littlefoot blinked still not following, "It's the dinosaur world and the human world. Two different realms that both inhabited the Earth but at two different time periods." Littlefoot then beamed in acknowledgement but the voice spoke again; this time it said something different.

"…Two friends…parted by an impossible barrier that could not be crossed. The barrier of time's flow…"

"That must be us Jason, " Littlefoot said smiling, "and that must mean that this invisible wall that's keeping us apart is the barrier of time. The time difference between my world and yours."

"You're right," Jason agreed, "but what is this all about? A series of riddles? Hey, maybe if we solve these riddles, it'll help us get out of here." Littlefoot nodded but the voice spoke to them again.

"Two friends who suffer the same pain…a childhood pain of seemingly ancient personal history…separated by time…brought together by a common, deathly cause…"

"'A common deathly cause'? Don't like the sound of that," Jason replied lowly.

"I wonder what she means," Littlefoot said suggestively but as he finished his sentence, the entire area (both Littlefoot's and Jason's) trembled as if a giant's thunderous foot has just stamped on the ground. The boom rang out loud and clear attracting the attention of both worlds' inhabitants as well as Jason and Littlefoot's.

"What have they seen? What are they all looking at?" Jason quizzed scratching his head.

"Jason, look! Up in the sky!" Littlefoot warned. Snapping his head skywards, Jason saw what looked like a fiery ribbon flicker and dance across the now warm, orangey horizon making its way high above the border between the two worlds. All eyes of all onlookers fixed on the flaming streak as it spiralled over the barrier.

"What the hell is that!" Jason breathed warily.

"I don't know," Littlefoot replied blankly.

Suddenly, the ribbon of fire exploded, throwing out a wave of flames that filled the sky. The horizon was completely swallowed in a frenzied blaze of wild fire that devoured the sun, the dusky sky and the soft cottony clouds. The humans and dinosaurs began chattering nervously and some had already begun to panic. Littlefoot and Jason were still eyeing the flaming string expecting a little more and, to their surprise, the voice spoke out again, revealing another riddling statement.

"A legendary beast…relived in a modern era…brought to life…to end life…" Littlefoot and Jason looked at each other dumbstruck.

"That doesn't sound good," Jason said worryingly. Before Littlefoot could answer back, the ribbon exploded again but this time, a screech shot out from its hanging position; it sounded like a very large eagle. Littlefoot and Jason gazed up at the searing skyline just in time to see the ribbon slowly unfurl to take the form of a fiery bird with a menacing mien of pure malice. As it spread its flaming wings out to their full length, it threw its head back and let out another shrieking cry. Then, it craned its head down onto the two panic-stricken worlds while its inhabitants ran and fled in all directions. The bird's golden eyes then snapped and locked onto Littlefoot and Jason who were the only two who weren't fleeing for their lives.

"No! A…a phoenix. The RED Phoenix! It…it can't be!" Jason gasped horrorstruck.

"The Red Phoenix! Here!" Littlefoot said shakily, now paying a lot of attention to his fellow dinosaurs sprinting madly in random directions, "What should we do?" He glanced at Jason.

"Dunno if there is anything we can do," Jason said flatly. The phoenix above them suddenly began to beat its huge, flaming wings. On its third cast, the phoenix cried to the heavens with its wings held out at maximum span. The ground began to tremble and shake with increasing violence. All humans and dinosaurs were now paralysed with fear and the instability of the quaking ground (including Littlefoot and Jason). Suddenly, there was a flash of intense heat that hit them so hard, it almost floored them both. Gazing up, Littlefoot and Jason gaped in horror as they saw a gigantic, blazing wall passing over their respective terrain like a tidal wave of fire engulfing everything before them. Still glued to their spots, Littlefoot and Jason ducked and shielded themselves as best they could as the hundred-foot, wall of flames flooded over them.

It took a few seconds for the immense heat to gradually cool off their skin and this was the signal for Littlefoot and Jason to slowly and cautiously stand up and examine their miraculously unharmed selves.

"We…survived?" Jason gawked patting himself in random places to ensure he was all there.

"Looks like it," Littlefoot said giving himself the once over. He then looked out at his surroundings and gasped horrified, "Jason, look…" Jason did as instructed and turned to his environment which instantly made his jaw drop open with unbelieving revulsion. The two worlds were completely destroyed. The bustling streets full of activity had disintegrated into a dusty, grey wasteland of demolition. The buildings that seemed to touch the very sky were battered, weathered and lay crumbled on the pavements that bore great cracks like an earthquake had ripped through the peaceful little scene. The roadlamps were bent and twisted like thin-wire coat hangers no longer functioning. Vehicles lay strewn across the scene, some overturned and ablaze along with the bodies of numerous men, women and even children as the dust-thick air blotted out the fiery skyline. Littlefoot's was no better. The towering trees that shone healthy and green had been stripped of their leaves and bushy canopies with most lying uprooted and broken on the forest floor. The sweet smelling field was now a smoky, barren plain presenting not even a single flower. The mighty mountains had crumbled like mounts of dirt with some sprouting fiery jets of lava and others threw large clouds of smoke and ash into the already carbonised, dense, choking air. In amongst the burning remains of the last signs of flora were motionless bodies of countless dinosaurs of all herbivorous species which made Littlefoot feel sick to his stomach.

"The Red Phoenix's doing," Jason said biting his lip greatly angered by what he could see, "'A legendary beast' that came to life in a modern era…MY era, to end all life…" Littlefoot looked at Jason concerned, "The Red Phoenix Laboratory Corporation. The virus they created with the sole purpose to kill all lifeforms that contracted it. Both plants and animals alike." Jason tried to look at Littlefoot but he found he could only do it out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly felt dirty and dishonourable. Littlefoot wanted to say something comforting but nothing came to mind. Despite his worry, it seemed fruitless to even try.

"Danger and fear was now the meaning of life…the unearthly challenge of survival against…the greatest of all odds…" the heavenly tone sang suddenly making them both jump, "…unable to contain the evil unleashed…the planet had no choice but to surrender its will and meet its dark fate…at the hands of carnage and destruction…"

Littlefoot and Jason dropped their views from the sky again as the woman's voice silenced but they couldn't seem to make eye contact with each other. Neither one felt dignified to interact with the other. The phoenix overhead let out another screech still with its impressive wingspan stretched out full. Then, Jason heard something shuffle on the ground in amongst the inanimate bodies of people that lay sprawled everywhere.

"What was that?" he said edgily eyeing the dead crowd but nothing replied.

"Something's not right," Littlefoot warned, his nerves tingled unpleasantly as if to pick up a signal being transmitted through the air. Suddenly, there was a grunting sound coming from somewhere in the close vicinity which made them both leap with fright.

"Jason! Behind you!" Littlefoot shouted urgently. Whirling around, Jason was just in time to see a blood-covered, diseased-looking man launch itself at him. The grey, waterlogged, hanging skin of its hands clamped around his shoulders as it made a bite for his neck.

"Eeeeyyaahhhh! Get off me!" Jason shrilled battling with the ill-featured person as it hissed and spat in his face.

"Jason!" Littlefoot yelled as he made a dash to help him but he quickly remembered about the invisible barrier as he ran headfirst into it. Jason then lost his balance and toppled backwards with the attacking man but it was still relentlessly trying to sink its teeth into Jason's neck. With a struggling effort, he managed to get his leg tucked under the man's abdomen and gave a violent kick with his two feet. The man flew back the way he came and landed in a messy pile a few metres away allowing Jason to hurryingly stand up and dust himself off.

"He's a zombie. He's infected with the virus and it's brought him back to life," Jason panted looking down on his attacker.

"I don't think he's the only one, look!" Littlefoot blurted looking past Jason. More of the once deceased members of the public were starting to get up, all looking pasty-faced and ghostly white.

"But…I don't get it! As normal people they went right through us. Now as infected virus carriers, they're able to see us and attack," Jason said nervously as all eyes suddenly swept onto him having locked onto his voice.

"Maybe, if we are…dead, they can see us. Maybe they couldn't when they were all alive," Littlefoot suggested but he let out a horrified scream when he saw some diseased creatures of his own to suddenly deal with. The majority of them were wearing Red Phoenix squadron uniforms whilst others wore white lab coats. To make things worse, a number of carnivorous dinosaurs had also jumped into view and hissed malevolently.

"Oh no! They're here in my world too!" Littlefoot cried helplessly as the fleet of undead humans and raptors started to advance on him.

"Damn. The Red Phoenix team that were in the Great Valley! They were infected too and those raptors must have been some of their test subjects," Jason said flicking between Littlefoot's ambush and his own.

"What'll we do! There's way too many of them to fight! We'd never beat them all!" Littlefoot whined backing away slowly from his advancing crowd.

"I don't know. There's nowhere to run but there are too many to fight against," Jason said shaking his head pessimistically backing up as well. They were being closed in on as Littlefoot and Jason backed themselves into a corner. They flattened their backs against their blockade and stared at their oncoming assault.

"Trapped!" Jason cried horrorstruck.

"What now?" Littlefoot wailed but then, the female voice came to their rescue with another riddle.

"The dead walk to plague on the living…but those shown heaven's guiding light…would stand up and use it to pierce the darkness…just as destiny foretold…" The two proceeding armies froze in their tracks on the woman's final word.

"What're they doing?" Littlefoot questioned.

"Beats me," Jason shrugged, what are they all staring at?" For some peculiar reason, all the undead humans and experimental subjects were all looking up at the sky. Littlefoot and Jason did the same out of sheer curiosity. There, slowly making a descent down from the burning sky like snowflakes were two star, one blue; the other red. They gracefully lowered down in between Jason, Littlefoot and their onlooking squads of enemies and paused at roughly eye-level.

"Those lights…" Jason hummed hypnotised slightly by the red star hovering in front of him.

"Could they be…" Littlefoot began staring at his star of blue that seemed to be calling out for him to make contact with it. None of the groaning, spitting monsters budged an inch in the presence of the two lights as Littlefoot and Jason continued to examine them. They seemed to be mesmerised at the sight of the two spiking balls of light and were completely oblivious to Jason edging closer to his one. Carefully, he raised his hand up to the red star but snatched it back a little, feeling slightly apprehensive. He turned to Littlefoot who was at a similar distance to his own blue star as Jason was to his red one.

"Whad'dya think?" he asked Littlefoot with a puzzled expression.

"If it's what we think it is, then…it should be fine right?" Littlefoot said not sounding entirely convincing.

"Okay, after three…" Jason breathed readying himself.

"One…" Jason raised his hand up level to the light and Littlefoot turned to face his own.

"…Two…" Their nerves tingled as Jason then said,

"…THREE!" Littlefoot plunged his nose into the light and Jason thrust his hand onto his. On contact, Littlefoot and Jason felt their bodies suddenly become light as a feather. Something boiling hot shot through them and burned at their very centre. It felt like an implosion was sucking them in from the inside but suddenly, the bizarre force snapped in reverse and a huge pressure burst out of them through their skin. Littlefoot and Jason, both on their knees, slowly stood up breathing heavily. Examining each other and then themselves, they were amazed to see that they were both wrapped in a wispy aura of the colours of the stars they had just touched.

"Whew! What a rush!" Jason panted feeling strangely exhilarated.

"I feel…strange. I feel…stronger somehow," Littlefoot gasped. He suddenly felt so full of energy.

"Three legendary powers awakened…three legendary beings reborn in a new generation. A warrior, a guardian and a summoner…" the angelic voice called out again, "powers given to fulfil each of the carriers' destinies…to survive their trial…"

"'Survive our trial'?" Jason repeated looking perplexed, "I got what she meant about those light being the powers of the Stones of Essence but, what'd she mean by 'survive our trial'?" Littlefoot looked at him blankly as the voice continued,

"…a trial to prove that their might and courage…is more powerful…than death…" Littlefoot and Jason looked at each other thunderstruck at the words they had just heard echo from out of nowhere, "with their power given a form…can they survive their torture?"

Suddenly, Jason's right hand grew warm; he could feel something in it. Looking down at the strange sensation tickling in his hand, Jason found, to his great surprise, a long, glowing beam of red light in his grasp which looked remarkably like the shape of a sword. Jason gasped at the gleaming red blade and swung it through the air watching it streak through the space leaving a faint blur tracing its path. As Jason gawked at his mysterious new weapon, Littlefoot was stood glaring at a blue, arching barrier that had suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. It ripped like water as he blinked at it but it looked solid as it shimmered a beautiful shade of sapphire blue.

"What just happened?" Littlefoot asked watching the shielding barrier move with his head.

"Dunno. Maybe this is what we're supposed to use for our 'trial'," Jason replied flicking his sword through the air again.

"…they are now set…" the voice announced, "…one has proven their courage over the trial already…and now…the other two must do so as well…it is the ultimate test…" Responding to the voice's final word, almost like it were following a command, the phoenix floating above them let out another ear-splitting screech, throwing its wings out wide. As the fiery falcon cried, the invisible barrier dividing Littlefoot and Jason burst into flames like a sparking fuse heading for a bomb. It zoomed from the far distance ahead of them and zipped right past them. The phoenix quickly silenced and the wall of flames died out. Nobody moved a muscle as a weird cracking noise, like a breaking ice sheet, sounded. Littlefoot and Jason turned to each other and found bizarre, white cracks growing and worming their way along what looked like thin air. All of a sudden, a great crash rang out and the invisible wall shattered like a pane of glass throwing shards into the air, evaporating before they touched the ground. Littlefoot and Jason hopped back from the destroyed wall looking shocked but before they could speak, the heavenly-toned, sweet voice spoke out one last time.

"The barrier of time has been destroyed…the trial begins. Have at you, those chosen by fate…the price for failure is unimaginably high. Show your strength, arm thy courage…and prove yourselves to be…the heroes destiny has written for you to be…" With that, a soft gust of wind blew sweeping the voice away. At the same time, the wind seemed to reanimate the undead armies that had now merged into one huge battalion. They hissed and spat at Littefoot and Jason lividly as they stood, now side-by-side, eyeing their onslaught.

"You ready Littlefoot?" Jason asked furrowing his brow into a focused, concentrated gaze.

"I'm ready, we'll beat them together!" Littlefoot replied standing primed to react to the first attack.

"Then…LET'S GO!" Jason roared as the fleet of virus-ridden creatures charged at them.

Chapter 78: Fate's Final Strike 

Their trial, as foretold, had begun. Littlefoot and Jason stood ready to receive the first attack that was coming in from directly in front of them. A man in a Red Phoenix Squadron uniform came lunging, arms outstretched and snatching at the air. Taking the lead, Jason leapt forward to meet him and sliced at him with his sword of red light. The man crumpled with the hit and quickly disappeared in a flash of white light as it dropped to the floor. Three more humans sprung into action throwing themselves at Jason from three different angles but with a quick spin, he carved through them all with ease. The halved bodies quickly vanished just as the first had but Jason was not quite ready for the next wave of diseased raptors that jumped ahead of the crowd. Caught off-guard, Jason was knocked down by a pouncing raptor narrowly missing its glaring incisors sweep past his face. On the follow-up, the raptor swiftly seized a bite at Jason's neck but it was suddenly smashed in the head by a rampaging sideways barge from Littlefoot, bowling Jason's captor and its accomplices over.

"You okay?" he asked as Jason hopped to his feet.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason smiled but a roar stole his attention, "look out!" The raptors had recovered sooner than expected and were quickly on the assault again closely followed by a fresh wave of infected civilians and lab technicians. Littlefoot jumped in front of Jason, planted his feet firmly on the ground and stood strong and defiantly before them. The raptors charged straight at Littlefoot but bounced off his shimmering blue shield and each exploded in a ball of white light of their own. Littlefoot staggered slightly with the force of each of the individual hits and he was finding it difficult to maintain his ground. The wave of new enemies was thick and fast, smothering Littlefoot from all directions with some even managing to get around his frontal shielding and attack from the sides. Jason instantly leapt to his aid swiping at those who were swamping the poor longneck at his flank.

"Thanks," Littlefoot breathed smiling.

"Don't mention it," Jason beamed back.

"Uh oh! More coming!" Littlefoot then announced.

"There's hundreds of 'um!" Jason gasped exasperatedly, "But we gotta wipe 'em all out!" Littlefoot nodded as he followed Jason deeper into the fray.

Taking a dash to the right, Jason crossed from Littlefoot's world border into his own territory. After taking a giant spinning slash at a set of diving civilians, Jason chucked his sword straight into a line of advancing Red Phoenix squaddies. The red sword of energy tore right through them forcing them to erupt and disappear behind a curtain of white light. Running to catch up with his weapon, Jason tugged the blade out of the wall of a building where it had come to rest and quickly swung his foot around kicking another creature in the face sending it into a crazed flip where Jason instantly followed up with a downwards stab at the floored enemy to finish it off. Littlefoot, still on his side of the time border, rampaged through the attacking crowd, ploughing into them all, cleaving a clear path like a razor-sharp knife. Those foolish or unfortunate enough to come into contact with his blue shield of light evaporated in a white flash. Suddenly, as Littlefoot dispatched three more monsters that tried to leap on him from in front, he felt his tail stretch painfully as if something heavy had anchored it to the ground. One of the humans had grabbed his rear appendage and was holding onto it tightly. Littlefoot, stopping in his tracks, snapped a nasty look at the creature hooked on his tail who stared back dumbly. Irritated, Littlefoot whipped his tail inwards pulling its rider in with it. As the creature stumbled forwards, Littlefoot swung his head around smacking the human hard in the stomach with his barrier. The man lifted off the ground, flipping madly as his body grew brighter and erupted in its white light just like the rest of the fallen. Littlefoot smiled feeling impressed with himself just as Jason came charging in with his glowing sword firmly planted in the chest of another zombified scientist as he swung around to meet Littlefoot.

"You okay?" Jason asked shoving the scientist off his blade with his foot.

"Yeah fine," Littlefoot replied slapping an approaching squaddie with his tail so hard it flew into the surrounding members of the Red Phoenix's private army, "you?"

"Great! I'm almost enjoying this," Jason smiled hacking another four down with a single swift flick, "this is too easy! Hardly a challenge at all!"

Suddenly, the phoenix overhead cried as if to be greatly angered by Jason's boasting. Rearing back its head and beating its wings, the phoenix, for the first time since its appearance, took flight. It shot high into the blazing sky and swooped down on the battlefield.

"Heads up!" Jason shouted taking out one more creature before diving to the dusty floor. Littlefoot, seeing the screeching, flaming giant bird swooping at him, leapt to one side and flattened himself against the blackened, scorched earth. They both stood up as the dive-bombing bird shot back up into the sky glaring at the pair of them.

"That flying monster looks angry," Littlefoot warned eyeing the phoenix as it hovered high above them.

"Look! It's dropped a load of fireballs everywhere," Jason announced staring at the ground. Sure enough, numerous amounts of flaming balls were burning in random places on the battered, cracked floor. Counterattacking another infected experimental raptor, Jason eyed the fireballs peculiarly. The burning balls of red, yellow and white began to change shape and morph into flaming figures laying flat on the ground. Suddenly, the burning bodies groaned and began to stand up. Jason hopped back a couple of feet in horror as the scenery littered with hundreds of these blazing figures all starting to stand up.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jason gawked backing into Littlefoot who looked at him alarmed. The phoenix gave a deafening cry and the flames disappeared in a flash but to Littlefoot and Jason's utter horror and dismay, the virally infected humans and other assorted creatures were stood glaring at the two of them.

"Oh no!" Littlefoot gasped fretfully, "they're…they're all back!"

"This is bad…seriously bad news!" Jason said weakly, "the phoenix resurrected the creatures we had previously defeated. Brought them back from the dead!" Without wasting another moment, the new reformed monsters roared and hissed before charging at them full-pelt. Jason dodged a claw swipe from a raptor aimed at his Adam's apple but he was promptly seized by a mass of zombified civilians that all pounced at the same time. Jason tried his best to struggle free, slashing at whatever he could but he was very swiftly becoming overwhelmed.

"Jason!" Littlefoot called headbutting one scientist out of the way. Taking a leaping bound, Littlefoot swung his head in a wide arc at the crowd smothering Jason. Everything within range evaporated instantaneously allowing Littlefoot to go to Jason's aid. Still slightly disorientated, Jason swung his sword madly behind him. It was going to catch Littlefoot in the face.

"Jason wait!" Littlefoot cried despairingly but the momentum of the swing was too great to be prevented from hitting Littlefoot square in the head. Littlefoot cringed as the red sword clashed with him but to his surprise, the sword ricocheted off his blue shield and was thrown in the opposite direction. The glowing blade flew out of Jason's clutches and shot like a bullet past them. Flying without an owner, the sword tore through the air skewering many enemy monsters through the stomach in the process. Hooked onto the speeding blade, the skewered creatures slammed into the wall of a crumbling building where they were pinned and, giving up their last of their energy, they collapsed and erupted into balls of white light and disappeared.

"Wha-what was that!" Jason shrilled in awe as he dashed over to his sword and yanked it out from its vertical pedestal.

"Something happened when your glowing cutter hit my blue wall," Littlefoot said but he was interrupted by another squawking wail from the phoenix overhead.

"Look out! It's coming down again!" Jason yelled dispatching another set of Red Phoenix squadron members before diving to the concrete pavement. Littlefoot mimicked him as the gargantuan of a flaming falcon swooped down over them again dangerously close to their flattened positions. As the phoenix shot back up into the sky again, Littlefoot and Jason couldn't help but sigh in anguish as they saw more fireballs laying on the ground all starting to morph into figures of the fallen and even more enemies.

"Oh man! Not again!" Jason moaned watching the blazing bodies beginning to stand up.

"That phoenix thing keeps bringing them back!" Littlefoot said as the flames quickly flickered and died, leaving the newly formed bodies behind in its departure.

"We've gotta stop that miserable bird from creating new monsters…and resurrecting the old ones," Jason said readying himself for another attack.

"But it's too high up! How are we going to hit it?" Littlefoot groaned as a new wave started lunging for the two of them.

"Wipe these guys out and we'll counterattack it," Jason suggested decapitating an enemy and watching it fizzle out in white light.

The fresh wave seemed faster and more furious than the others. It was difficult for Littlefoot and Jason not to get swamped but with a little co-operative tactical assistance from one another at the right times saw them through their onslaughts but it was evident, their energy levels were running dangerously low.

"I…don't know…how much…longer…I can…keep…this up…" Littlefoot panted shoving a pouncing woman away from him.

"Come on! We musta slain…enough of these…things…by now!" Jason protested exhaustively as he spun around and sliced through the ring of diseased civilians and Red Phoenix army personnel closing in on him. Jason hunched over and breathed heavily as his full turn landed and his dispatched enemies tumbled to the concrete ground in pieces. Jason wiped his sweat-speckled forehead with the back of his non-weapon wielding hand.

"Come on you lousy torch-lit pigeon! How much longer are you gonna float up there for!" he screamed at the phoenix that hovered high over them like a godly spectator overseeing the battle. The monstrous bird snapped its head down and glared at Jason malevolently, "Yeah, I'm talking to you sad excuse for a firefly! Now I've finally got your attention, let's talk!" Jason smirked darkly but Littlefoot was horrified by his insulting of the phoenix.

"Jason! What are you doing! Are you trying to make it mad?" Littlefoot hissed through his teeth.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do," Jason replied to the awestruck Littlefoot but he quickly caught onto what the scheming kid was up to. As they both wasted another attacker each, Jason turned back to the phoenix.

"Come on! This is too easy! Why don't you come join in the fun?" he taunted wagging his blade back and forth at the phoenix mockingly. The huge falcon screeched deafening as if greatly angered.

"I thought you'd say something like that. Come on flappy! Let's see what you've got…come on tweety bird. Let's go!" Jason edged waving the beast on. The phoenix cast its mighty wingspan out before taking flight.

"That's it…it's taking the bait…" Jason mumbled to himself but he quickly turned to Littlefoot, "Heads up Littlefoot! It's coming!"

"What!" Littlefoot gaped as he threw another raptor away and into the crowd. He had become so engrossed in the fighting he almost forgot where he was. Jason hacked down another few entities before standing to face the now dive-bombing phoenix with wide open arms.

"COME AND GET ME!"

The phoenix roared shaking the ground as it plunged straight at Jason and Littlefoot.

"Gotta time this right…" Jason hummed to himself. The monstrous beast soared to the earth below and glided parallel to the ground. Littlefoot dove to the carbonised grassy floor as the phoenix shot over his head kicking up a storm of dust from the floor as it passed. Lost in the dust cloud, Littlefoot tried his hardest not to be pulled over by the powerful blast wind that resonated from the phoenix's wings.

"Jason! Jason, look out!" Littlefoot choked but the wind roared over him and the dirty air was blinding. The phoenix was nearly upon him as it opened its giant talons to snatch at its target.

"NOW!" Jason screamed winding up his arm. With every ounce of his strength, Jason launched his glowing red energy blade into the air. The sword spun madly through the air space straight towards the phoenix. Almost as if it had anticipated his attack, like it already knew what he had in mind, the phoenix banked effortlessly to one side allowing the blade to shoot past harmlessly.

"No! No…damn it!" Jason cursed loudly punching his thigh in rage. The phoenix quickly readjusted its flight path and dove headfirst at the now weaponless boy. Jason leapt to one side, covering his head with his arms as he hit the dirt just as the blast of heat and flames trailing the gargantuan bird shot past. Jason quickly hopped to his feet to look for his blade but a voice shouted out to him.

"Jason! Look out!" Littlefoot yelled but strangely, it sounded more like an order than a warning. Whirling around, Jason saw Littlefoot stood poised right in the way of the flying sword. The velocity it was travelling it at would easily kill the young dinosaur in an instant if it struck him.

"No! Littlefoot! The blade!" Jason warned flapping at him to move out of its way but Littlefoot didn't seem to acknowledge. Instead, he looked focused and primed to receive the deathly blow. The sword was now too close for him to dodge and Jason watched in fear as the sudden thought of his attack intended for his enemy was about to strike down his friend instead.

"Get down!" Littlefoot barked again just before the blade struck him, full-force, directly in the face. There was an incredible flash of electric blue that consumed the little longneck, stealing him from view for a second. Suddenly, as if by a violent chemical reaction, the area exploded with the sound of a massive energy discharge accompanied by a blinding flicker of neon, blue light. Littlefoot flew backwards from the flash epicentre like someone had physically thrown him out of the way. As Littlefoot shot one way, a blazing red streak ricocheted off in the opposite direction. Jason quickly realised why Littlefoot had warned him and arched over backwards to drop awkwardly to the concrete to evade the glowing red bolt that shot skywards at supersonic speed. By this time, the phoenix was recovering from its diving attack and swooped around to refocus its gaze on the worlds beneath it but it craned its mighty head round to see the red streak of light zooming right for its face. In a blink, the red bolt plunged itself deep in between the phoenix's glaring yellow and black eyes where it became stuck fast.

On the ground, Littlefoot and Jason had slowly clambered to their feet both feeling beaten and a little shaken.

"Littlefoot, you alright?" Jason asked rubbing his left arm briskly to revive the feeling in it.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Littlefoot replied smiling but winced slightly at the same time. Suddenly, there was a deafening screech of panic from overhead. The two boys snapped their eyes to the sky and gasped in awe. The phoenix was writhing and squirming erratically whilst screaming at an ear-splitting pitch in pure agony. It seemed to be having immense difficulty maintaining its airborne position as it flapped and squawked madly. Littlefoot and Jason looked on in dumbfounded silence as the colossal, flaming bird's entire body began to glow a brilliant white. Scanning their paired worlds, the two of them watched the hundreds of creatures, mutants and diseased humans all writhing and wriggling like they were being tortured from their insides.

"What's going on?" Littlefoot breathed fretfully as every inhabitants' body began to glow white just like the phoenix.

"You…you bounced my sword back and it hit the phoenix!" Jason said hoarsely. He could feel a burst of excited welling up in his chest as the realisation started to take hold of him, "Littlefoot! You slayed the phoenix! We beat them…our trial is over!" Littlefoot's eyes shot round to meet Jason's which were dancing with a glint of glee in them.

"We…we did it?" he croaked weakly but a smile spread across his face as Jason's verifying nod confirmed his answer. Before either of them could celebrate, the phoenix gave one last brain-piercing wail of pain which stole their attention. Gazing at the fiery horizon again, Littlefoot and Jason looked up just in time to see the phoenix throw its gigantic wings out to its sides to full span; its body now almost completely blurred in a sheet of ghostly white light. Then, in a split-second, the phoenix exploded like a fiery grenade throwing out a wave of roaring fire that began engulfing the entire landscape. Littlefoot and Jason huddled close together panic-stricken as the world around them disintegrated in the tidal wave of fire that swept over them.

"JAAASSSOOONNN!"

"LITTTTTLEFOOOOOT!" The two of them screamed in fear as the wall washed over them, consuming them and transforming their surroundings into a blank screen of white nothingness.


	25. Final Part: Where the Path Finally Ends

Chapter 79: Between Heaven and Hell

The piercing light slowly died away leaving not a trace of the battle. The two worlds, separated by time's barrier had disappeared. The hoards of disease-ridden creatures had vanished along with the flaming phoenix and the torched skyline. Not a shred of evidence that proved that the grueling battle had ever taken place. All that remained, hanging in the pitch black void were two lifeless bodies. One of a juvenile brontosaurus and the other of a mid-teenaged boy. Neither one moved an inch but the way they both laid in twisted positions next to each other as if they had been brutally beaten and left for dead. For these two bodies, there appeared to be no salvation. No one to care for them; no one to mourn their loss. As Littlefoot and Jason lay suspended in the darkness, a soft beam of light slowly illuminated their fallen bodies, like a spotlight shining on them. From this light, the sound of a voice rang out softly over them.

"Littlefoot…Jason…" it sang sweetly, "come on now boys…it's time to wake up…" Responding to the voice's call, both immobile figures twitched and they could feel their senses slowly returning to them.

"Eerrmmm…ummm…huh? Eh?" Littlefoot hummed drearily slowly raising his head that seemed to weigh five times its normal weight. He could feel the warm light bathing his aching body, making his skin tingle pleasantly. It was almost like someone was nuzzling him with a loving touch as deep and as real as the raw emotion itself. Next to him, laying the opposite way, Littlefoot could feel someone stirring. Jason pushed himself back to sit on his heels and groaned audibly like he was arousing from a heavy dosage of a sleeping drug. He buried his face in his hands and rubbed it violently hoping to dislodge whatever it was making him drowsy and help it to wear off.

Having had a few seconds to restore their bearings, Littlefoot and Jason turned to face each other both displaying the same lost and awestruck expression for the other to read.

"Littlefoot?" Jason whispered uncertainly to him.

"Jason?" Littlefoot replied in a similar disconcerting tone of voice, "Wha-what…what happened?"

"I have no idea," Jason answered truthfully. Neither him nor Littlefoot had any knowledge to what had just occurred but then, Littlefoot's memory jogged him almost like someone hitting him from the inside of his skull.

"Where is everyone? The humans? The giant fiery flyer? My world and yours? Where'd they all go?" he questioned examining the blank void surrounding them.

"I…I don't know. We were fighting them all but…my sword…I threw it but…it missed and…you bounced it back…" Jason said slowly and carefully, "but…everything's just…gone."

Suddenly, a female voice spoke out from the spotlight.

"You did it…" it said sounding very pleased.

"Yes…well done boys…you did very well," a second female voice spoke out as sweetly as the first. It too sounded appeased and almost proud to be saying what it was saying.

"Wha? Who's that?" Littlefoot asked hurryingly staring up at the light. It was incredibly difficult to look into the glaring beam without squinting but it was still impossible to see anything.

"Who are you? What are you talking about?" Jason shouted up to the beam of warm light shielding his eyes with a hand.

"You don't remember? Your trial? 'A test to prove that your strength and courage is more powerful than death'?" the first voice said.

"Yes, you took on the challenge and succeeded. You emerged triumphant…just as we'd hoped you both would," the second voice added merrily.

"You…you were watching?" Littlefoot asked astounded. Something was burning inside him the more he listened to the voice speaking to him. It was almost painful, almost like something was desperately trying to scream out to him.

"Why yes. Every move, every word. We watched the whole thing," the first voice said happily.

"That was a wonderful display of courage and friendship," the second voice joined in, "you worked together and overcame insurmountable odds. An incredible achievement that has allowed us to approach you both at long last." The voice suddenly turned a little uncharacteristically morbid as it continued,

"Had you failed, you both would have been lost forever; trapped in a never-ending nightmare neither truly dead nor truly alive. A fate we prayed would never befall the two of you and thankfully, a prayer that was answered wholly." Littlefoot and Jason, now standing fully upright, gazed at each other thunderstruck. Both of them could feel the same horrible surge of pressure pressing against their insides and it was gradually getting stronger and more uncomfortable.

"You…saw everything?" Jason asked cautiously and both female voices hummed in verification, "Just…who are you?"

For a while, there was no reply but all of a sudden, the spotlight started to move. From its angled, hovering position in the blackness, it began to rotate and fall from its high perch. Littlefoot and Jason followed its path down until it came to a gradual halt in front of them at about head height. The two friends shielded their eyes from the glare as best they could from the stream of golden light that shone hard and bright directly in their faces. The more they looked, the brighter the light seemed to get. It was growing; illuminating the darkness and piercing the blank void that clung around them like coagulated fog. Before they realised it, Littlefoot and Jason became lost in the intense golden light but it was strangely calming and non-threatening allowing themselves to be swallowed by it without fear or thought.

After a few brief seconds, Littlefoot and Jason found themselves stood in the centre of a picturesque open field covering in a rainbow assortment of flowers that swayed blissfully on a warm, light summery wind. The sky was crystal clear with soft, giant cotton-like clouds that sailed across it like huge fluffy ships on an inverted ocean. The sun was high and radiated glistening golden beams of warm sunlight on the dancing grassy field that brushed Littlefoot and Jason's legs with affection.

"Whoa…This is amazing!" Jason gasped dumbstruck at the radiant beauty of the luscious landscape.

"Yeah I know," Littlefoot said greatly admiring the wondrous field that stretched as far as the eye could see, "but…where are we?"

"Dunno. Doesn't look like the Great Valley," Jason replied analytically, "what troubles me even are those two voices…"

"I know what you mean," Littlefoot agreed as the sweet floral scents wafted up his nostrils, "where have they gone?"

"Gone Littlefoot? My dear, we never left," the first female voice said from out of nowhere. Her voice sounded incredibly close and was as sweet as honeydew.

"We've been with you both al along boys and there hasn't been a moment when we haven't thought about you," the second voice piped in. It too sounded within extreme proximities and too was honey-sweet in tone.

"Where are you? Why do you sound so close but we can't see you?" Littlefoot asked a little despairingly.

"Please…can't you show yourselves?" Jason pleaded searching the field for the source of the voices.

Suddenly, responding to their desperate pleas, two golden ribbons of sunlight burst through the clouds littered with falling gold stars that tumbled like glittering confetti. Littlefoot and Jason hopped backwards a little to distance themselves from the glistening strips of elaborate light as they both expanded to reveal two very distinct figures. The first was a gigantic, long-necked dinosaur that towered high above the two of them blotting out the sun with her incredible stature. The second was a human who stood next to the dinosaur. She was draped in a silky, flowing, white dress that would be worthy of a very expensive wedding gown that floated gracefully with the zephyrous breeze as did her beautiful, straight long black hair. Littlefoot and Jason felt their hearts swell to an enormous size as they instantly recognised the female figures stood in front of them.

"Littlefoot…my Littlefoot…" the dinosaur sighed as she smiled sweetly.

"Jason. It's so good to see your handsome face again…" the woman beamed at the dumbstruck teenager.

"Mother!" Littlefoot and Jason both uttered in unison. They could hardly believe their eyes as they stared at each other and then back to their mothers.

"Can…can it be true? Is this…real?" Jason stammered taking a nervous step forward.

"That…that is you…isn't it mother?" Littlefoot asked feebly ghosting Jason's step. Even without confirmation, the two boys suddenly dashed forward. Jason leapt into his mother's arms and clung to her tightly as she embraced him in a loving hug while Littlefoot nuzzled his own mother affectionately.

"I always dreamed of the day I'd see you again," Jason whispered with a cracking voice. His mother continued to cradle him in her arms.

"Oh mother. It's been so hard without you…I…" Littlefoot sighed.

"Hush now Littlefoot. You don't have to worry about a thing," his mother said brushing her cheek against his.

Having enjoyed their heartfelt, emotional moments of embrace, Littlefoot and Jason stood a little distance away for their mothers to admire them.

"Just look at you two," Littlefoot's mother said proudly, "two boys who are completely different yet exactly the same in spirit."

"It's no wonder you were destined to meet each other even though you do not exist in the same chapter of the world's history," Jason's mother cooed smiling.

"But…what is this all about? Why are we here?" Jason asked scanning the landscape once more before focusing back on his mother.

"This is a land somewhere between the existence of the living and the passageway to the next life," Jason's mother replied.

"So…almost like the gateway to heaven?" Jason suggested naively.

"It's a little more complicated than that I'm afraid."

"How'd you mean?"

What you see here is a place manifested by your heart's true desires. The one thing you wish for with every fibre of your being appears here," Jason's mother explained.

"But, this place is visible to very few. Only those whose destinies are fulfilled by undergoing the trials are allowed to be here; provided they succeed in their challenge set for them," Littlefoot's mother expanded upon but Littlefoot and Jason looked a little disturbed by what they had just heard.

"So…that means that…either we're dead or…this is not real," Littlefoot said slowly.

"As I said before, it's not quite that simple nor is it easy to explain," Jason's mother reiterated.

"So why are we here? There must be a reason why we're here," Jason said anxiously.

"You're here…because you chose to come here," Jason's mother said potently yet unthreateningly. Her smile ceased to fade from her beautifully toned face.

"We both knew that since we were taken from you both at such a young age that that was the reason for you being here," Littlefoot's mother said sweetly as she craned her huge neck down to talk to them eye to eye, "we both knew…you wanted to be reunited with the ones you lost at that tender young age. We waited for a long time and now your wish has finally been granted."

"So what now? Is this how things are going to remain? What about everything we left behind?" Jason said warily.

"What about our friends? The Great Valley? Grandma…Grandpa…" Littlefoot said feeling slightly panicky. At first, neither Jason nor Littlefoot's mother seemed to be able to answer. They simply smiled sweetly at their sons who appeared to be getting restless.

"You may regret hearing this because once you do, there will be no going back," Littlefoot's mother said finally, her smile still failed to fall from her face. Littlefoot and Jason shuffled uneasily next to each other unsure if they wanted to hear what was about to be said.

"You do not have to fear about leaving your world behind. You are both still there in physical form but not in spirit," Jason's mother announced.

"We are!" they blurted out in awestruck unison.

"Yes, your bodies are still in the Great Valley but only just. If your spirits do not return to those empty bodies, you will both be lost forever," Littlefoot's mother said seriously.

"So…that means…" Littlefoot began. Their mother's nodded.

"Yes. It is not time for you to be fully reacquainted with us. You both still have so much of your lives to live and we will not let you become lost in the dark void that this place will become should you perish in body," Jason's mother said.

"But…no wait! Mother!" Jason protested as he leapt forward to grab her hand but he gasped in shock when he found his hand grasp nothing but air.

"What?" Jason breathed examining the palm and reverse of his hand before glancing up at his mother horror-struck. Littlefoot too gaped in terror as he attempted to brush past his mother's leg but he toppled through the mighty giant.

"What's going on?" Littlefoot whined with wide panicking eyes.

"It's time to go…" his mother said to Littlefoot who was desperately trying to find a solid part of her to make contact with.

"What? Why! Why are you leaving?" Jason complained still trying to grasp his mother's hand but she just smiled pleasantly.

"You've both re-established your connection to the real world by asking for it," Jason's mother said unphased by what was happening, "you were bound to remember sooner or later and as we said before, it's not your time to pass on yet."

"That's right. You both have so much to live for. So much to see and do. You cannot cut that time short; it would be a tragic waste," Littlefoot's mother joined in.

"But…what about you? I don't want to lose you again," Littlefoot wailed feeling abandoned.

"Me neither. I couldn't imagine life without you. Not now I've seen you again," Jason whined helplessly.

"Jason…Littlefoot...We are always with you," Jason's mother said lovingly. Her smile was all the while spreading across her face.

"Children…as long as you remember us and keep us in your hearts…you'll never lose us," Littlefoot's mother beamed happily, "just look there, and you'll always find us."

Littlefoot and Jason felt powerless. They had longed to be loved and embraced by their mothers for so many painful years and now their moment was finished; much sooner than they had hoped. Suddenly, the golden beams of sunlight that announced their mothers' entrances shone down on the two figures again. Littlefoot and Jason wanted despairingly to protest but their mothers silenced them.

"We're almost out of time," Jason's mother said as her features started to become fainter and unrecognisable; enveloped in the blinding light.

"With your quests finally over, order must be brought back to your world."

"The power of the stones bestowed upon you will work for you one last time," Littlefoot's mother said as her face became lost in the beaming sunlight, "use that remaining power to right the final wrongs of your destinies."

"What? I…I don't understand!" Littlefoot yelled up at the glaring light.

"Right what wrongs? Whad'dya mean?" Jason shouted shielding his eyes with one hand.

"You will understand," both mothers chanted melodiously, by now they had been completely consumed by the gold ribbons of glistening light, "Children…Let your hearts guide you…They whisper…so listen closely…" And with that, both the woman in the flowing, blossom-white dress and the mighty brontosaurus left the flowery field without a trace.

"No wait!" Jason screamed to the sunbeams, "Please mother! Come back!"

"No! Don't go mother! Please! Don't leave me!" Littlefoot wailed helplessly but to no avail. With no reply and their throats sore from shouting as loud as they could, Littlefoot and Jason looked at each other both distressed and feeling beaten. Their heads hurt from the sudden rushed influx of indecipherable information and their hearts were racing. Time seemed to stand still momentarily as only the sound of the sweet, gentle wind whistled around their frozen statures. Before either of them could say a word, they felt the meadow shudder dangerously. Littlefoot and Jason fought to keep balance whilst the soft breeze suddenly strengthened becoming stormy, gale-like and difficult to battle against. Toppling into each other, Littlefoot and Jason gazed up at the skyline which had undergone some means of accelerated time travel as the sun remained in its high noon position but the colour of the horizon was an oddly contrasting shade of dusky orange which was swiftly turning an inky, midnight blue. The blissful, harmonious landscape seemed bland with the sky now gone but strangely, the sun still remained as a glowing white ball high up in the black void. Littlefoot and Jason stared at each other completely perplexed just as another devastating earthquake rumbled through the ground. The ball in the sky dropped from its high perch as if the tremors had dislodged it from its hanging and it shattered on the grass like a china dinner plate leaving the two boys panicking in the grass and flowers which had suddenly been robbed of their scent and rainbow of colours. As their world began disintegrating around them, Littlefoot and Jason clung to each other as they saw the field of flowers and once wavering grass begin to shatter like a wave of broken glass in front of them and it was getting closer. In the distance, a strange beeping sound was emanating from the darkness. As the tidal wave of self-destructing grassland crept closer, the beeping began getting louder and the intervals between them were getting shorter. The shattering grass was nearly upon them as Littlefoot and Jason clutched each other tighter and screamed as the beeping rang out like it was directly overheard. They slammed their eyes shut as the ground beneath them disappeared and they plummeted into the darkness. Nothing seemed to slow their descent yet nothing seemed to be passing them but they could feel their deathly freefall into a black abyss as they screamed.

"Aaaaaarrrggghhhhhh!" Jason yelled lurching up panting and soaking in a cold sweat. He was shaking uncontrollably and it was impossible to steady his trembling hands. He felt incredibly dizzy and disorientated but his blurred vision was slowly coming back into focus. Suddenly, he jumped as he heard a scream of pure fright and panic to his right. Looking over, he saw Littlefoot lying next to him on what appeared to be a raised platform of some description. The little longneck looked flushed and terrified as he whipped his head around to and fro trying to recover his bearings quicker than he could possibly muster.

"Hey! Hey Littlefoot! You okay?" Jason called to him breathlessly.

"Jason!" he replied calming down a little, "I…I think so…what jus happened?"

"I don't know but…" Jason began but he quickly realised where they were. They were in a room full of medical equipment and supplies scattered everywhere on all surfaces. The room was dimly lit by a ceiling lamp that flickered unhealthily. Jason looked over at Littlefoot and saw the side of his chest bandaged up with numerous wires and tubes sticking out of various point on the young longneck's body as he lay on his side still trying to regain his composure. He also quickly realised that he too was lying on his back suspended off the floor with something propped up against his back. Like Littlefoot, his upper body was covered with bandages and a number of wires and tubes were stuck into him.

"What is this place?" Littlefoot said still breathing heavily. He looked at all the wires attached to him and he started to panic but Jason waved a hand at him to calm him down again.

"Wait Littlefoot! Don't worry, I think we're safe here," Jason said.

"What's going on? And what're all these weird vine things on me?" Littlefoot cringed lowering himself back down to a restful position even though he felt quite the opposite.

"This looks like a medical or operating room of some sort," Jason said analysing the place until his eyes came to rest on a piece of paper with some writing scrawled on it on a nearby surface. In the top right-hand corner, was a logo that he recognised immediately.

"Littlefoot. I think…I think we're back!" Jason said picking the document up, "We're back…in the Red Phoenix complex in the Great Valley."

"We are?" Littlefoot gasped.

"I'd say so. Looks like someone was looking after us after that incident in the Green Meadow."

"Really? But who?" Jason continued to scan the document in his hand. The writing was unrecognisable but he smiled weakly at the names signed at the bottom of the piece of paper.

"Jill and Stone…" he said finally, resting the document on the surface again, "they were treating our wounds for us. It's all written down."

"Jill and Stone were looking after us?" Littlefoot breathed amazed yet still restless, "What did they do?"

"Not sure exactly. The procedure written on the paper says they tried resuscitating us, bandaged us up and…gave us an injection of some kind?" Jason read aloud glancing at the report again.

"So…they saved us?"

"To put it simply…yes."

"But what about all this stuff?" Littlefoot whined fidgeting and fiddling with the tubes and wires.

"Don't mess with 'em Littlefoot. They're fluid drips and monitoring equipment. They're there to help you and keep an eye on your vital signs so nothing goes wrong. They're not gonna harm you." Littlefoot still felt agitated and fidgety. He followed the wires connected to him and looked up at a pillar of machines that were bleeping fairly rapidly.

"What's that thing? Why's it making that noise?"

"That? That's an electrocardiogram or ECG for short," Jason explained, "it's monitoring your heart rate and the blipping noise indicates every heartbeat. By the sounds of it, you're heart's really pounding away; think you need to calm down a bit. With a heart rate of one-thirty-eight and you're lying down is a bit concerning." Littlefoot looked up at the alien machine and watched his ECG line hop up and down madly. It was true that his heart was thundering inside him but he was amazed that Jason was able to deduce that from the screen and being nowhere near him to actually feel it kick against his chest.

"Just relax Littlefoot. I don't think we have anything to worry about here," Jason smiled. Littlefoot looked at him still feeling a little edgy but the more he read the warm, friendly smile on Jason's face, the more reassured he started to feel.

Taking a deep breath each, both Littlefoot and Jason exhaled loudly and flopped back down on their beds. They remained in silence for a few minutes, listening to the machines whirring and their ECGs blipping tunelessly.

"Hey Jason," Littlefoot then said after what seemed like an hour.

"Hmm?"

Do you think…y'know…that fight, the trial?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Did it…really happen? Or…did we just dream it?" Jason paused to think for a second but as he rested his chin on his hand, he found he couldn't think of a logical explanation.

"To be brutally honest, I don't have a clue," Jason sighed, "it sure seemed real. Everything was so…vivid."

"I know what you mean," Littlefoot agreed, "but…it's not the trial that bothers me."

"Then what is it that's bugging you?" Jason asked curiously.

"That field of flowers afterwards. Where we saw our…our mothers. Was…was any of that real?" Littlefoot continued sounding almost hurt by his own words.

"I…I just don't know," Jason replied softly pondering the thought, "did it all really happen? Or was it all a figment of our imagination? Something in our subconscious that was triggered? Some dormant part of our brains that became active? A dream perhaps?"

"But how did we manage to have exactly the same dream?" Littlefoot questioned but Jason merely shook his head.

"I honestly can't explain it. I wish I could but…it doesn't make any logical sense," Jason said finally. They both laid down, their minds torturing them as they played back the events of what happened before they finally awoke. Something in them wanted to believe it really did happen. That they fought alongside each other, battled that undead onslaught, slayed the monstrous phoenix. The part they really hoped for was their painfully brief reunion with their mothers in the gorgeous, euphoric flowery field. Whether it happened or not, they could remember every last spoken word and sincerely cherished the experience.

Suddenly, their concentration was broken by the sound of footsteps clapping on the cold, hard marble flooring echoing in the hall outside. Littlefoot and Jason snapped their eyes to the door as the footsteps stopped outside it and the door clicked and swung inwards creaking horribly.

"Ahhh so you're both awake at long last," a familiar female voice chirped sweetly.

"Jill!" Littlefoot exclaimed overjoyed to see her.

"Whoa there kiddo! Don't over-excite yourself, you're still recovering," she said resting a hand on his side gently to calm him.

"Enjoy your lay-in boys? You've both been in a comatose state for at least six hours," Jill told them. Littlefoot and Jason gawked dumbly at each other as Jill picked up a clipboard and went over to Littlefoot's monitoring equipment.

"What happened to us Jill?" Jason asked watching her scribble on the clipboard.

"The Red Phoenix got to you both. You were both infected with the supervirus and it gripped you both so quickly. We feared the worse once you lost consciousness the pair of you. Thought you weren't gonna make it at one point once the resuscitation didn't seem to work," Jill said bobbing up and down between screens and taking notes at the same time.

"But…how did you bring us back?" Jason asked bewildered, "if we were so badly infected with the virus, then how could we have survived?"

"You can thank your dino pals for that one. They found the cure," Jill smiled walking from Littlefoot's monitors to Jason's.

"The gang?" Littlefoot hummed in shock-driven curiosity.

"Yeah. They found a blue vial in your backpack Jason. Recognised it in an instant once I saw the company logo on it," Jill said beaming now looking at the two of them, "turns out you had the anti-viral formula in that little med-kit of yours. God only knows how you managed to obtain but it was miracle they found it. We probably wouldn't be having this conversation now if it wasn't for them." Littlefoot and Jason gasped and stared at each other in a dumbstruck silence. Jason had completely forgotten about the vial of anti-virus sitting in his bag but shocking of all was that they owed their lives to Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali. They had saved them from an untimely fate.

"Where are they now? Can we see them?" Littlefoot asked getting ready to stand.

"Hold it buster! Neither of you are in a fit state to go anywhere," Jill scorned but still smiled, "your vitals are all stable and the damage analysis and repair is almost complete. The bandages will probably be able to come off tomorrow if your recovery rate continues at the speed it is. You'll be out of here by morning." Jill scribbled down a final set of notes before placing her pen in her pocket and heading for the door.

"Hey Jill! Where's Stone?" Jason asked quickly.

"He's fine. He's sorting out the installation of the Chronos Doorway up on the Great Valley's border," she replied.

"What for?" Littlefoot asked naively.

"For our return trip of course. Back to the year 2113. Hopefully, after all the nonsense of that incident in the Red Phoenix headquarters," Jill said as he laid her free hand on the door handle and pulled the door open slightly.

"I suggest you two get some rest. You'll be up and about by morning," she said looking at them both; they had seemed to have lost their voices, "Don't worry about your folks and friends. I'll relay all this info back to them and tell them you're all right. I'm sure they'll be pleased to hear you're on the road to a full recovery. Now, rest up…pleasant dreams." With that, Jill disappeared out into the corridor shutting the door behind her.

The air seemed to thicken into a choking smog as Littlefoot and Jason lay in the dank ward in an uneasy silence. Littlefoot looked over at Jason who was playing with his fingers and staring at his discoloured bed sheets that clearly hadn't been washed for days.

"What's wrong?" he asked finding his voice at last.

"Nothing…nothing's wrong," Jason replied without looking over.

"You sure? You've gone all quiet all of a sudden," Littlefoot said, he couldn't help but notice that Jason seemed to be avoid his eyes.

"Really, it's nothing," Jason answered quickly. He could feel Littlefoot's gaze burning into the side of his neck so he quickly flashed him a weak smile.

"We should rest up. That way we can get out of here and get to see everyone again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Littlefoot agreed settling down, trying his best to get comfortable.

"I hope Jill and Stone will be okay," he then said just as he found a comfy spot.

"W…whad'dya mean?" Jason asked pulling his sheets up high under his chin.

"Well, them going back to the human world. I hope they'll be okay. There didn't seem to be much of their home left," Littlefoot hummed thoughtfully.

"I'm sure they be fine," Jason replied minimally still not turning to look at Littlefoot lying next to him.

"I wonder what they'll do once they get back. Hopefully it will be a lot easier for them now that all those monsters and stuff are gone."

"Yeah…yeah I should think it would be."

"Oh well…goodnight Jason," Littlefoot said finally before tucking himself into a ball to sleep.

"Goodnight Littlefoot," Jason replied hardly whispering.

As he fidgeted to get comfortable, Jason's mind began racing. He began thinking about the final words their mothers had said to them before their departure. He felt his stomach plummet at the thought. Had it been real or not, he finally understood what they meant and he wasn't sure Littlefoot had grasped it. With that final gut-wrenching thought, Jason drifted off to sleep. He knew…the next couple of days…were going to be hard.

Chapter 80: Breaking the Indestructible

Early morning greeted the Great Valley bathed in a glorious shine of dawn sunlight. It seemed unseasonably warm for the time of year considering the winter period was supposed to be on its way but it wasn't able to rob the amiable autumn air of its pleasantries of transforming deciduous leaves and fiery seasonal skylines. The rising sun beamed through the tiny cracks in the Red Phoenix complex medical ward where Jason and Littlefoot remain laying on their beds with the gentle sound of working machines and monitoring equipment echoing in the shallow room. Littlefoot was still fast asleep whereas Jason had been awake since the first signs of daylight had started to seep into the world. He was just laying there, statute still, staring unfocused at the cracked, concrete ceiling deep in troubled thought. His sleep was restless and disturbed; he felt drained, like he hadn't slept a wink all night but his brain just couldn't switch off. It was impossible for him to drift off soundly with so many routes, thought-paths and possibilities charging and screaming through his head. Finally, within the last hour, he had figured it out. He'd been trying 'to'ing and 'fro'ing from the subject but it was clear now. He knew what he had to do.

"_There's nothing more to it. It's the only way,_" he said to himself mentally, "this is the way it has to be…but God…If only it didn't have to. But…it's exactly what our mothers meant. 'Righting the final wrongs'." Jason propped himself up to a seated position and buried his face in his hands. Pulling them down over his hot, flushed face, he inhaled and exhaled stressfully.

"Man! Why is it always me who gets the short end of the stick? I've always gotta make the hard decisions and I always feel bad for it," Jason said to himself aloud, "I don't want it to end like this but…I'm gonna have to...Oh Littlefoot…I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" a voice called next to him. Jason jumped at the unexpected piping of the voice.

"Oh Littlefoot! It's just you," he said breathing a sigh of relief before turning to face Littlefoot. He was still lying down but his head was turned in Jason's direction.

"Yeah…well. It is only me in here so I thought you were talking to me," Littlefoot said smiling, "what was it you were saying sorry for?"

"Hmm? Wha? Oh-oh…it's nothing. I was just mumbling to myself, don't worry," Jason quickly replied with a flash of a smile. Littlefoot looked at him a little confused.

"Mumbling to yourself? You feeling all right?"

"Err…yeah! I'm fine," Jason said almost pouncing on Littlefoot's question before he'd even finished it, "think this place is starting to get to me a bit. Getting excited about getting out and seeing everyone again."

"Me too," Littlefoot agreed cheerily but as he looked at Jason's fixed smile, he couldn't help but start to feel something was wrong.

"Jason, what's wrong? You're acting like you're…I don't know…like you're hiding something."

"What! N-no! No Littlefoot! Don't be ridiculous! Why would I do something like that?" Jason said hurryingly. He was quietly hoping Littlefoot wouldn't pick up on the quivering nervousness of his voice or the bleeping of his ECG which had suddenly quickened; not to mention the lack of sustained eye contact. All the tell-tale signs that he was blatantly lying.

"You sure? Come on Jason, what is it?" Littlefoot edged on clearly not convinced, "what's wrong? Tell me! You can trust me…I'm your friend!" He offered a warm smile as Jason slowly looked at him.

"…That's precisely the problem…" Jason muttered lowly into his bandaged chest.

"What? What'd you say? I didn't hear…" Littlefoot asked leaning closer.

"Littlefoot…" Jason began, "I…"

Suddenly, the door into the room flew open making the pair of them jump.

"Rise and shine sleepyheads!" a zooming figure chanted as it shot into the dank ward.

"Wha-Jill?" Jason exclaimed blinking in surprise at her unexpected and abrupt arrival.

"Hope you two slept well, you've got quite a welcoming committee assembled for you," Jill announced taking a quick glance at Littlefoot's monitoring equipment before turning to face him directly, "all vitals stable and tissue damage index at an acceptable minimum. Looks like you're all good to go little guy; let's get these mummy wrappings off you shall we?"

"Err…sure," Littlefoot hummed slightly bemused by Jill's excitable energy.

"A welcoming committee?" Jason asked raising a perplexed eyebrow, "You mean…"

"Yep. Quite a crowd gathering for you two just on the edge of the wood outside. Everything set for a party minus the banners, loud music and party poppers," Jill said with a joking smirk. She moved from Littlefoot to Jason who had already made a start on unravelling his bandages.

"You know, everyone's been worried sick about you guys. Especially your grandparents and that little gang of yours," Jill went on sounding a little more serious as she switched off Jason's monitors and pushed them into a the dankest corner of the room.

"Really?" Littlefoot asked staring back at Jill as he ungracefully hopped to the cold floor knocking over a curtain screen with his tail in his descent.

"Oh yeah. Your grandparents were perched outside the woods ever since Stone and I brought you here. They were our transportation to our base from the field and that was some ride I can tell you that. You're friends came too. I'm sure they would've been camping out in here with you if their folks didn't call them back," Jill announced with exaggerated energy to her voice. She finished untangling the mesh of wires and nano-tech bandages from Jason's torso allowing him to tear off the final strand and throw it to one side.

"A close group of associates you boys have got you know. Friends that caring and dedicated are very hard to come by. You'll wanna hold onto friends like that." Jill gave Littlefoot a playful wink and he responded with respectful acknowledging smile thanking her for her wise words.

"Yeah…the kind of friend you don't want to lose," Jason mumbled bitterly hopping down from his bed to stand on his achy legs.

"Well now, you don't have to say it like that," Jill said frowning, "what's bitten you?"

"…Nothing…" Jason replied minimally swiftly shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn't particularly want to be confronting his friends and fostering grandparents right now but he knew there was no escaping them. He'd have to face them sooner or later and time wasn't on his side.

"So, is that it? Can we go now?" Littlefoot squeaked eagerly bouncing up and down ecstatically.

"Sure thing. That is, if you think you can make it to the exit without doing yourself another injury," Jill chortled stroking Littlefoot's cheek, "go on…they're waiting for you."

"Great! C'mon Jason; let's go!" the hyperactive young longneck exploded. He grabbed Jason's hand gently in his mouth and gave it a hard tug towards the open door.

"Whoa! Okay Littlefoot! Take it easy! I'm coming!" Jason sniggered half-heartedly. He allowed Littlefoot to drag him to the door before the bouncy brontosaurus finally let him go.

Jason watched Littlefoot sprint to the first corner but it was evident his mind was off wandering in some other voided realm. A world of torturing screams and painful visions.

"Jason, come on! What're you waiting for? Don't ya wanna see the others?" Littlefoot's voice rang out from the entrancing blank piercing it like a stabbing blade. Jason blinked and shook his head violently. What was he thinking? Now was not the time to be acting like a sulking child feeling sorry for himself. How would that look in front of everyone who had clearly been worrying constantly since they were taken in? Jason shut his eyes and took a long, deep, calming breath to smother the raging fire of emotional torment burning in his head and in his heart. On holding his breath for a few seconds and exhaling heavily, he slowly opened his eyes where he found Littlefoot yet again in direct line of sight. He was still stood poised, tail twitching, awaiting a response.

"Right," Jason said finally, "let's go meet the gang." He grinned widely which seemed to feed Littlefoot's energy levels making him smile broadly. Determined to keep composure, Jason strolled up to Littlefoot's position but as he approached the nearside of the corner, Jason broke into a run without warning.

"Meet ya on the edge of the woods slowpoke!" he yelled behind him with a taunting playfulness.

"Hey no fair!" Littlefoot shouted after him. He battled to find some means of traction on the cold, marble floor before he finally managed to shoot off and give chase after Jason.

The two of them tore around every bend at break-neck speed, occasionally skidding into walls having approached corners way too fast. Jason took a quick glance over his shoulder to just see Littlefoot power-slide around the corner he had just passed and rebound off the side wall but he quickly regained his rhythm and galloped after his target who was a good few seconds ahead of him. Turning the last corner and tearing down the final straight to the exit, Jason fly-kicked the half-opened door forcing it to swing outward wildly. The searing brightness of the outside world was blinding compared to the dark little ward forcing Jason to an abrupt stop. He rubbed his stinging eyes to help his vision adjust to the sudden change in light intensity as he inhaled the sweet, refreshing Great Valley air. Lowering his hands from his eyes, Jason couldn't help but stand and stare at the sunny copse surrounded by the dense mass of tightly packed trees leading into the, now seemingly ill-named, Forest of Fear. Jason smiled as he surveyed the natural beauty before him just to see a large blurring streak zip past his left side nearly knocking him over.

"Overtook ya! Looks like I'll be seeing YOU on the other side!" the blur that was Littlefoot yelled back in playful mockery through the blanket of leaves he kicked up in his strides.

"Don't bet on it JUST yet longneck! I'll get you yet!" Jason hollered back kicking off the leaf-littered ground to give chase. They charged headlong into the darkening forest towards their awaiting party.

Meanwhile, just on the border of forest, a group of dinosaurs were stood waiting anxiously. The gang were all present along with their respective parents all assembled alongside Grandpa and Grandma Longneck who had settled outside the perimeter since the very moment they had helped transport Littlefoot and Jason's unconscious bodies there. They were knelt silently amongst the other adult dinosaurs whilst the gang were gathered in a little circle of their own. Cera and Ali were pacing up and down in perfect synchronisation but walking in opposite directions whilst Spike sat mutely beside a small rock where Petrie and Ducky had taken up positions.

"I wonder what is taking them so long," Ducky hummed lowly to Petrie.

"Me no know," he shrugged, "Jill say they would be coming out this morning."

"Maybe they are not fully rested yet," Ducky suggested but Petrie simply replied with another shrug of the shoulders.

"I thought they'd be out by now! What's taking them so long?" Cera grumbled picking a stone out of the ground with her nose horn and flicking it in the air dangerously close to Petrie's face, "Jill said all she was going to do was go and get them. Why'd they take this long?"

"I hope nothing bad has happened," Ali sighed finally giving up on her monotonous pacing. She took a seat on the opposite side of the rock to Spike as all eyes suddenly locked onto her.

"What you mean Ali?" Petrie cawed sounding slightly anxious.

"Well…I mean…I hope they…didn't start feeling sick again," she explained but Cera snorted at her disapprovingly.

"No way! Jill said they were fine and they'd be out this morning. You shouldn't say things like that Ali!" she scorned furrowing her brow.

"I didn't mean it to sound nasty Cera. I'm sorry," Ali replied shyly feeling overpowered.

"It is okay Ali. I think we all just want to see them again so badly. I was starting to maybe think the same thing," Ducky said smiling at her but Cera grunted again.

"Well neither of you should've been thinking of it!" Cera snapped irritably. With that, the gang went quiet all passing looks at each other without saying a word.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a wailing ball shot out from the dark woodland and crashed into the rock where Ducky and Petrie were sat. The gang whirled around in shock to see the ball divide into two and the halves unfurl into two figures.

"Oww! What'cha do that for? Just coz I was winning!" Littlefoot whined as he slowly found his feet again.

"Sorry. I didn't see that root sticking out of the ground," Jason said dusting himself off, "besides, I was catching you up." They grinned at each other briefly before a tremendous uproar made them jump sky-high. A tidal wave of dinosaurs swarmed over them in seconds all with great beaming faces and all overjoyed to see them.

"Littlefoot! Jason!" the gang cried charging at them. They madly poked and prodded the two of them whilst mumbling crazed babbling statements that sounded something like: "Are you all right?" and "I can't believe it! You're here!" and that was before the adults descended on them.

"Whoa! Whoa! We're okay guys! Really!" Littlefoot giggled as Spike slopped his tongue all over his face blinding him.

"Ease up you guys! Sheesh! A little room to breathe please," Jason laughed almost swatting Petrie out of the air with a reactive flinch to him flapping directly in his face. The hyperactive group dispersed slightly allowing Littlefoot and Jason to stand up tall again, both with appreciative smiles. The look on their friends' faces was more than enough for a home coming welcome but the playful pounce said it so much more…bluntly. Just then, as they scanned the inner ring of the crowd, two long-necked heads protruded from the back end.

"Grandma, Grandpa," Littlefoot called amorously as the crowd parted to allow the giant longnecks to wander down the make-shift grassy gangway.

"Oh boys, it's good to see you both all well again," Grandma Longneck beamed lowering her head which automatically triggered Littlefoot to brush against her cheek. It felt like an age had past since he was last able to feel the soft touch of his grandmother's warm, loving face.

"It's good to see you too Grandma," Littlefoot sighed burying his face deeper into hers.

"We were all so worried about you. We feared the worst," Grandpa Longneck said softly looking at Jason at eye-level once he had finished hugging his nose.

"Apparently we owe our lives to you guys, so Jill says," Jason smiled twisting on the spot with a hovering arm swung open to the gang.

"Really?" Petrie cawed hopping forwards.

"It's true," a voice said from behind Ali and Cera making them leap forward clearly oblivious to her entrance.

"Jill!" Ducky exclaimed narrowly missing Spike's rear end from landing on her in his frightened hop.

"That vial of anti-virus, the blue stuff you found? It was a perfect measurement for the two of you. Any less and one of you…well…no need to be expressed really seeing you both clung to your folks there," Jill smiled folding her arms, "their discovery saved you."

"And don't forget the prehistoric ambulance service," another voice piped in emerging from the woods and standing beside Jill. It was Stone with Zephyr sitting obediently next to him, "with every second counting, they pegged it, full stretch, to get you here. Break-neck speeds with necks that long could've resulted in further problems," he chuckled.

"Wow…all that effort…just to save us?" Jason breathed lost in the imagination of the pandemonium their falling had caused. "…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything," Grandpa Longneck beamed nudging him with his nose.

"Although I'm sure a 'thank you' wouldn't be a bad starting point," Jill smirked.

"Yeah…you're right. Thank you everyone…Grandma, Grandpa…guys…for everything," Jason said feeling an intense warmth growing inside.

"Yeah thanks Grandma, Grandpa…all of you," Littlefoot said smiling, "now we can all get back to normal. How things were before all this happened." As the crowd all hummed in gratified acceptance, Jason, on the other hand, felt the growing warmth building in his chest turn ice cold and die at Littlefoot's words. Previous haunting thoughts had flooded back in an instant filling him with more looming dread.

The herds began to move on but Jason was left standing in the same spot with nothing but his thoughts.

"Hey Jason…you who…they're leaving without you in case you hadn't noticed," Jill said laying her hands on Jason hanging shoulders.

"Huh? Oh-uh yeah…so they are," Jason mumbled with his trance now broken. He was about to head off when he felt Jill's grip tighten on him.

"Listen Jason…we need to have a little chat…" she said seriously, "it's about…"

"It's alright…I know…I've been thinking about it," Jason replied slowly, glancing back at Jill from over his shoulder. He felt Jill's right hand apply a little more pressure signaling for him to turn and face her. Following the signal, Jason turned around and found Jill looking deep into his wandering brown eyes that were proving impossible to lock on to.

"You do realise what you…" Jill began but Jason ducked and spun out of her grip.

"Yes, yes! I do! I'm not stupid! Don't you think I can figure it out for myself!" Jason snapped bitterly, "How long until you get that Doorway thing up and running?"

"Not long enough for you to be ready I'm sorry to say kid," Stone said calmly strolling up to Jason and Jill. Zephyr followed up behind.  
"A formal time-scale would be nice," Jason grumbled fidgeting around.

"We're looking at about two days, maybe three. Depends on how quickly everything can be assembled," Jill told him.

"And the stones? I'm assuming you still need them to power the machine."

"Littlefoot's sapphire and your ruby pendent are in one of the labs for safe-keeping. I've got mine one me."

"Right. The stones should work one last time apparently."

"Who told you that?" Stone asked forcing Jason silent for a second.

"…It doesn't matter. All I know is that they'll work once more. All it takes is for one of us to touch the console like last time, right?

"Worked before, can't see why it wouldn't work again," Jill said blandly. She was constantly monitoring and analysing Jason's response and posture and she could almost read him like an open book. His emotions were evident and poorly masked by a hardened exterior that was delicate and paper-thin; doomed to crack at any moment given the right situation…or the wrong question.

"Jason, I'm not going to try and understand the pain you're feeling right now," she started but Jason immediately went on the defensive.

"Then don't! Do us both a favour," he barked miserably turning away from her.

"Jason…go to them. You have to tell them . You have to tell them that you can't stay here given our differences. Not just in appearance but in needs…you won't survive here as long as you would in our time." Jason didn't say a word in reply. He knew full well that his life expectancy would be greatly hindered should he try and stay…his body wouldn't be able to cope with a different species' way of life, especially a prehistoric one. It was a miracle that he had survived this long but that had included contact with human resources as well as the Great Valley's and with nothing left of the human supplies…it would only be a matter of time. A greater tragedy for him to die in a rapturous, natural paradise than to say a final farewell and prolong his life. Righting the final wrong; as his mother had said to him.

"I can't imagine how hard it is going to be for you Jason, but your friends and family have a right to know. Don't you think?" Jill continued finally able to get a look at his face again which had been aimed at the floor.

"…Yeah…yeah I know," Jason replied finding Jill's eyes.

"A wise choice. Now go on; go see them. We'll leave it to you. We won't get involved," Jill said smiling hoping Jason would offer one of his own. He replied with a silent turn and quickly hurried after the herds who were now completely out of sight. Jill slowly backed up and allowed Stone to wrap his arm over her shoulder. Holding his hanging hand she looked into his eyes for a brief second before focusing back on Jason's shrinking figure sprinting over the meadows.

"Good luck kiddo…" she whispered lowly.

Within a few minutes, Jason, breathless and tired from running through the grassy fields, found the gang assembled with their parents (and various other dinosaurs) near a great, arching rock formation that looked like a doorway into a rocky, circular, stepped enclosure resembling something like an ancient Greek, open air auditorium. He stopped short of the meeting place where the Great Valley dinosaurs where conversing with Ali's herd leader. No one had seen him yet, not even the gang who were messing around by the entrance. Jason swallowed hard and gradually made his way towards the archway.

"Oh hi Jason!" Littlefoot piped happily bounding over to him having seen him walking towards them, "we were beginning to wonder where you were. Wanna play? It's boys versus girls and we need an extra player for the boys' side."

"Sorry Littlefoot, now's not a good time. I need to talk to Grandma and Grandpa," Jason said blankly without looking at him or breaking stride. Littlefoot looked surprised by his response as he watched the young teenager march through the archway and into the ring of elders.

"Littlefoot?" Ducky voice shot from behind but he didn't move.

"Littlefoot? What's wrong? What was that about?" Ali asked reading the dumbstruck expression on Littlefoot's face.

"I…I dunno Ali," he replied airily. Something in his gut was telling him that something was wrong. Jason seemed very distracted in the way he simply brushed Littlefoot off so abruptly. Ignoring his friends' cries to come back and play, Littlefoot looked on, watching Jason make his way into the centre of the crowd.

Meanwhile, Jason had stopped at the tree-trunk thick legs of his foster grandfather who was in deep conversation with the elderly leader of Ali's herd. With a deep breath, Jason looked skywards.

"Erm…Grandpa?" he hummed tapping the mighty brontosaurus's leg. Grandpa Longneck craned his head down to look at Jason.

"Oh, hello Jason," he smiled warmly.

"Grandpa, I…I need to talk to you," Jason said trying with every ounce of effort to maintain eye contact.

"Well, I'm in the middle of talking at the moment Jason. Can it wait for a minute?"

"Umm…this is kinda important. It's…it's about the humans."

"Oh? Go on then, I'm listening." Jason started to feel nervous. He began fiddling with his fingers that had were now trembling slightly.

"A message from Jill. She said that they should have the Chronos Doorway up and running in about three days…maybe sooner."

"So they will be leaving once it is working?"

"Yes…"

"Where are they hoping to get it working?" Grandma Longneck asked having overhead the conversation.

"I think it's up by the Great Wall where they were trying it before," Jason replied a little startled that a new voice had suddenly joined in.

"Will it work do you think?" Grandpa Longneck asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it will. And once it does, they'll be returning to the year 2113. Back to the human world…but…" Jason trailed off.

"But? But what dear? What's wrong?" Grandma Longneck asked slightly concerned by Jason's fallen mien.

"When…when they go back…I-I…I'll be going back with them…" There, he had finally said it but it had taken so much energy and effort Jason almost felt breathless. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck looked at each other gravely.

"Is that…your decision dear?" Grandma Longneck asked as sweetly as she could. Jason nodded without looking up at them.

"We knew this situation would have to be faced at some point," Grandpa Longneck sighed sadly shaking his head.

"It's not like I want to go. I'd love to be able to stay here but…" Jason protested but trailed off with a defeated sigh.

"It's alright Jason. We understand. It's a difficult decision to have to make. We're not angry at you for making it. A little saddened maybe that it has to turn out this way but we're glad you came and told us," Grandma Longneck reassured him.

"Have you told Littlefoot?" Grandpa Longneck asked.

"N-no. Not yet…I'd hate to see what his reaction would be if I told him now," Jason replied shaking his head, "I was hoping we could perhaps talk about all this tonight…all of us together?"

"Yes, that's a fine idea. We'll talk about this tonight at the nest," Grandpa Longneck agreed with a smile. Somehow, Jason now felt a little relieved. At least he had told his grandparents, all he had to do now was explain to Littlefoot and the rest of the gang. He looked back up to his grandparents.

"Great but…how do we go about telling Littlefoot that I'm leaving for the human world?" he said up to them.

"You're WHAT!" a young voice erupted from behind him. Jason whirled around and froze solid.

"Littlefoot!" he gasped fretfully seeing the young longneck standing a few feet away.

"You're…you're leaving! But…but why!" Littlefoot whined. He looked incredibly shocked and horrified by what he had heard.

"No wait, Littlefoot! I-I can explain! It's not that I…" Jason babbled panic-stricken.

"I thought you wanted to stay! Stay here…with us! But you'd prefer to go back! Why! What ever happened to 'friends forever'! Are you saying you don't want to be friends anymore?" Littlefoot cried sounding extremely hurt.

"No Littlefoot, it's not like that at all, I swear! Jason exclaimed desperately.

"So that's what you were hiding from me! Back in that place! As soon as you heard that you could get the chance to go back you suddenly didn't want to be here anymore. You were thinking of a way to get away! I thought I could trust you! I thought you were my friend Jason!"

"No…Lit…I mean, yes! Yes I am still your friend Littlefoot, I promise you but it's not how you think!" Jason stammered but Littlefoot refused to accept his pleas.

"Well fine! If you'd prefer to run off and go back to that horrible place then GO! Go on! Don't let me stop you! Not that it was going to anyway!"

"Now Littlefoot, you're not being very fair to Jason," Grandpa Longneck said trying to intervene.

"Oh! And like he's being very fair to me is he!" Littlefoot retorted angrily, "Well…I don't care! If he wants to go then…GO AWAY…AND DON'T COME BACK!" With that, Littlefoot broke into a run and shot out of the enclosure.

"Littlefoot! No, wait!" Jason cried taking off after him.

"Leave me alone Jason! Just go away!" Littlefoot shouted ignorantly. He barged past the gang who had congregated into the archway, knocking them out of the way. Jason hurdled over the fallen Spike to continue the chase but Littlefoot had taken off over the hill, into the nearest set of trees and out of sight. Jason slowed to a stop completely worn out. He scanned the trees from the top of the hill but Littlefoot was nowhere to be seen. Jason cursed loudly kicking the ground to throw up a cloud of ripped grass and petals from flowers that popped like fireworks.

"Damn you Littlefoot! You didn't even give me the chance to explain," Jason mumbled through gritted teeth. His explosion of rage quickly wilted into sadness, "you didn't even let me explain…so…I guess that's it then…" Jason turned on his heels and found the entire crowd of dinosaurs in the meeting area staring in his direction. Feeling dirty and betrayed, Jason turned away from the prying eyes and headed down the hill, towards the Red Phoenix complex in the opposite direction to where Littlefoot had disappeared. Their friendship, now clearly, dashed and in tatters.

Chapter 81: A War of Emotions

"What just happen? Why Littlefoot mad? Why Jason walk off?" Petrie squealed throwing his head from left to right so wildly it made him dizzy, "what happen?"

"Petrie! Give it a rest will ya!" Cera snapped sharply.

"It looks like they had an argument about something," Ali said as they watched Jason finally disappear into the trees.

"An argument? But what could they be arguing about that would make Littlefoot so mad?" Ducky quizzed curiously.

"It's about Jason, Ducky," Grandpa Longneck said from overhead.

"Yes. This may cause pain for you to hear also children but you are bound to hear it sooner or later," Grandma Longneck said potently. The gang gathered around, all eyes fixed on the two longnecks with mixed feelings of both fearing uncertainty as well as eager anticipation.

"Jason came to us to announce that the humans will be returning to their homeland soon," Grandma Longneck stated.

"Well that good! Jill and Stone say they want to go back," Petrie piped in. Grandma Longneck nodded solemnly.

"That is true Petrie, only…"

"Only…Jason's going with them," Ali suddenly said with a dry tone of understanding. The gang all turned to Ali looking shocked but she seemed to be staring blankly into space for a moment before she looked up at the elderly pair again.

"Isn't that right?"

"Yes…I'm afraid so," Grandma Longneck sighed.

"What!" the gang squeaked in unison.

"Jason leave the Great Valley!" Petrie cawed in horror.

"So that is why Littlefoot is so upset," Ducky hummed with Spike nodding acknowledgement.

"And I can see why!" Cera snorted, "But why would he wanna go back to that place? We saw the human world and it's a giant mess! There's nothing there but broken homes and water you can't even drink!"

"I think it is a matter beyond our comprehension Cera," Grandma Longneck said, "the humans obviously have their reasons for wishing to leave the Great Valley and return to their world."

"Perhaps the humans have a greater need than that of our kind. A lot of their customs seem very strange to us and perhaps they need things that the Great Valley cannot offer them," Grandpa Longneck added, "and as you can clearly see, Littlefoot did not want Jason to leave as I'm sure you children do not either."

"When do they plan to leave?" Ducky asked.

"Jason said in about three days, maybe sooner."

"Sooner than three days?" Ali exclaimed. The gang all looked at each other thunderstruck.

"Jason didn't want Littlefoot or any of you to find out this way but it looks as though things are much worse now," Grandma Longneck sighed sorrowfully.

"We have to find them and sort this out," Cera said turning towards the open field.

"But what can we do? If they mad at each other then there no way they gonna talk," Petrie said hovering in front of Cera's face.

"Well, we'll just have to GET them to talk. If Littlefoot ran off like that, I doubt he's heard the full story," Cera said puffing at Petrie to get him to move, "we'll split up and get them to meet up somewhere…I know, that clearing with that long rock laying in it; the one near the Thundering Falls. Got it?" Everyone nodded in verification.

"Good. Me and Petrie will go find Littlefoot while Ali, Ducky and Spike go the other way to try and find Jason."

"Right!" Petrie cawed.

"Got it!" Ali smiled.

"Sure!" Ducky chirped. Spike nodded and hummed positively.

"Great. Now don't let Jason in on that you're trying to get him to meet Littlefoot. Just get him to the meeting place any way you can. Okay…let's go!" Cera announced and the group split on her final word. Ducky, Spike and Ali headed west towards the Red Phoenix complex whilst Cera and Petrie took off in the opposite direction in search of Littlefoot. As the gang separated, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck watched, silently wishing them luck.

It didn't take Cera and Petrie long to find Littlefoot perched, head hung low over a peaceful little stream overshadowed by trees that bore numerous pocket-holes in their deciduous canopies.

"There he is!" Petrie cried swooping down to land behind Cera's neckshield.

"I can see him y'know. He's the only one there," Cera said rolling her eyes as they made their approach slowly and quietly. Cera and Petrie managed to get within a couple of feet of Littlefoot before he raised his head and looked at them.

"Oh…it's just you guys," Littlefoot said sullenly turning back to the water.

"Yeah, it's just us," Cera said softly. She knew this was a sensitive subject so it had to be treated with utmost care.

"What are you guys doing here?" Littlefoot moaned without facing them.

"We heard about what happened…with you and Jason," Cera continued trying to find Littlefoot's eyes without being too intrusive or obvious. Littlefoot didn't answer. He was still turned towards the stream like he was the only one there and he silently wished that Cera and Petrie would just leave him alone.

"You sad coz Jason have to leave?" Petrie asked resting a hand on Littlefoot's front leg looking up into his face. Petrie then heard something drop into the water. Watching the stream, he couldn't see what it was but it made ripples grow on the gentle, flowing surface.

"He doesn't HAVE to go Petrie…he WANTS to go back. He'd prefer to go back to that nasty, grey world where everything's cracked and broken rather than stay here with us," Littlefoot whined picking himself up and headed away from the stream.

"Well, it may not seem like much to us Littlefoot, but that is where Jason came from. Maybe they can do something about it," Cera said walking up behind him.

"I'd never thought I'd hear something like that come from you Cera. Besides, they could stay here with us and then they wouldn't have to do anything about it," Littlefoot snapped bitterly, "out of all of them, I would have thought that Jason would want to stay at least."

"He told you why he no wanna stay?" Petrie asked taking flight to try and land on Littlefoot's head but Littlefoot dodged him forcing the little flyer to crash land on the dusty floor.

"He didn't have to tell me anything. I heard enough from what I caught from him talking to Grandma and Grandpa," Littlefoot said sourly.

"So, you haven't heard the full story then," Cera said furrowing her brow slightly.

"If there is one then I guess not…not that I need to hear it," Littlefoot snorted flinging his head from Cera to a blank space ignorantly.

"Well, we know a bit more about this. We spoke to your grandparents about what Jason said to them," Cera said almost darkly. Littlefoot took a slight glance back at Cera finally showing some signs of interest.

"What did he say to them exactly?" he asked curiously. Now was her chance. Cera now had Littlefoot's undivided attention.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you…" Cera said but she then swept her head from side to side as if to look out for someone, "…but not here."

"What's wrong with here? There's no one around," Littlefoot said but Cera shook her head, "okay then…where?"

"I know a place…follow me," Cera said jumping ahead to lead them away from the stream.

Cera and Petrie led Littlefoot to a shady little glade not too far from the stream where he had been sitting before. With the late autumn sun beaming down on the Great Valley, the cover from the canopies of the trees was punctured where they were shedding their brightly coloured confetti of red and gold leaves allowing jagged spotlights of glistening sunbeams to light up the otherwise dingy copse. In the centre of the leaf-littered enclosure was a great rectangular slab of rock which seemed ill-fitting in such a place. It had obviously tumbled down from the mountains that stood proud and tall just beyond trees.

"Is this is?" Littlefoot asked Cera who nodded with a slight smirk on her face. Suddenly, a set of voices came into earshot making Littlefoot stretch up to look for through the maze of trees surrounding the clearing.

"Who's that? Sounds like they're heading this way," Littlefoot said turning to leave but Cera and Petrie were stood in the way, "I thought we were going to talk?"

"We are," Cera said blandly still smirking.

"But someone's coming," Littlefoot protested.

"We know," Petrie replied in a similar tone. Littlefoot looked shocked yet greatly confused.

"What is this?" he murmured eyeing the pteranodon and triceratops suspiciously but neither answered. Just then, the growing voices suddenly exploded onto the scene from the opposite direction.

"Jason?" Littlefoot gawked seeing Spike shove him into the middle spotlight piercing through the trees.

"L-Littlefoot? What are you…" Jason stammered in awe, "I thought you guys said there was a problem and you needed me." Jason whirled around to stare at Ali, Ducky and Spike dumbfounded.

"Yes, we know. That is why we brought you here," Ducky chirped sliding down from Spike's back.

"This was a set up. You guys tricked me into coming here!" Littlefoot growled clearly unamused.

"Well, that's part of it but the reason why we brought you here was true as well," Cera said stepping deeper into the glade.

"And what, pray tell, would that reason be?" Jason asked bitterly slinging his bag to one side where it landed at the base of the large, long, oblong rock sitting on the northern end of the copse.

"To talk," Ali said joining the gathering in the brightly lit centre along with Spike, Ducky and Petrie.

"Oh, I see what this is about now," Jason said nodding. He sounded somewhat displeased, "so what then? You all gonna gang up on me and try and convince me to stay? That's a real nice way to go about it."

"Oh! Get over yourself Jason!" Cera grunted parking herself between Littlefoot and Spike. Jason gave a grumpy huff and folded his arms.

"So, when's this little chat show gonna get underway?" Jason said snobbishly. For some strange reason, Littlefoot was the only one who he could maintain eye contact with but it seemed Littlefoot wanted to focus on everything but Jason's eyes as they darted about randomly.

"How about you start by telling us what's going on with the humans; whether or not you are going to go with them," Cera snapped watching him with a stern expression.

"Fine," Jason sighed, "the basic jist is that Stone and Jill are looking to return to the year 2113 by reactivating the Chronos Doorway up on the Great Valley border; up by the Great Wall."

"How long will that take?" Littlefoot asked with a sharp tone that Jason wasn't taking kindly to.

"Two, maybe three days…it's looking like the latter at the moment. Stone says that a few things that need to be re-configured so three days look like the time limit."

"How will you get it to work?" Ducky asked with a little more sympathy to her voice.

"The Stones of Essence. I was told that they would work one last time…"

"…to right the final wrong…so that's what it meant," Littlefoot said under his breath.

"What's that mean?" Ali asked Littlefoot.

"I was told that too…" Littlefoot replied airily.

"By who?" Cera asked. Both Littlefoot and Jason locked eyes for a second or two unsure of what to say.

"It doesn't matter," Jason said finally, "all that matters is that within the next seventy-two hours, the Chronos Doorway will be open and…"

"That's when you run away! Run away and leave everything behind!" Littlefoot barked indignantly.

"Oh come on Littlefoot! What the hell is your problem! Why are you acting like this? You're behaving like…a spoilt brat!" Jason snapped angrily glaring at him almost hatefully.

"Why am I acting this way? From what I can see, you were just using us until you got the chance to go back, no questions asked! Not even a second thought of what you'd be leaving behind!" Littlefoot fired back scornfully. His brow furrowed to match Jason's threatening expression but as his words sank in, Jason launched himself into a flapping fit, slapping his forehead in angry frustration.

"What the…! How the hell did you come to that conclusion? You really think I'm that selfish and ungrateful? You don't think I appreciate everything you and everyone else here has done for me?" Jason retorted translating all his angry energy into his clenched fists that shook with his tension, "I doubt I'd be standing here now if it hadn't been for your support!" Littlefoot opened his mouth to answer back but he promptly closed it again as Jason continued,

"My time here…it's been better than I could've ever imagined. All that crap dealing with the Red Phoenix, it wasn't something I was planning on happening…but…" Jason took a pause to regulate his breathing again with a deep inhale before going on. His voice sounding much weaker now with the offensive power of his tone now dwindling.

"…For the first time in so long…I can't even put a figure to it…my time here…I finally found somewhere I could…at long last be happy. I've treasured every minute of my happy memories and my experiences here, and I won't be forgetting them in a hurry. It's…it's just such a pain that things have to work out this way."

"But why go? If you are so happy here…why leave?" Littlefoot asked despairingly. He too had softened his tone and was no longer obtrusive.

"It's a complicated feeling. As welcome as you've all made me feel…something keeps telling me…I don't belong here; I have to go back…coz it's the right thing to do…it is that simple," Jason replied turning his head away, "I'm not meant to be here. I'm not suited for this kind of living. With me staying here, I run the risk of damaging myself. I need elements from the human world just simply to survive. My world isn't as simple or easy-going as yours, even though sometimes, I really wish it was. Maybe…just maybe…then I could…"

"Your grandparents said something like that," Ali said stepping in.

"They did? I never heard that," Littlefoot said sounding surprised.

"Well they did say it. It was after you two ran off. They said that the humans may need something more than what our Valley can offer them…or something like that," Cera reported. Littlefoot fell silent again. Even his grandparents understood the situation better than he did.

"As morbid as it sounds, it is true," Jason said nodding solemnly, "without aid from the human technologies and everything I've come to accept as normal in my life, I could end up perishing from just about anything. The supplies in the ruins of the complex are pretty much finished. Power's nearly depleted and food rations are all used up; well, the rations that Jill could salvage anyway."

Littlefoot still couldn't find the words to generate an effective comeback. All his rage and anger had evaporated leaving him feeling drained, defeated and miserable. He sank down to a seat and sighed heavily. Something was eating away at him, gnawing at his insides, which was shielding him from the ability to understand despite the reasoning. It all made sense but it hardly registered as something that was justified…it just wasn't fair.

"Well…me get what you have to do Jason. Me wish it no have to be this way but…if it what you gotta do then…you gotta do it," Petrie then said glumly with a saddened expression to match.

"I do too, yep, yep, yep. But I do wish there was another way," Ducky said looking up at him.

"So do I Ducky, I really do," Jason agreed nodding regretfully. He looked up and scanned the faces of his friends reading their sunken miens until, at last, he came to Littlefoot who was staring at the ground,

"Well, for what it's worth…I had a blast with you guys. Everything we've been through together. I couldn't have imagined a greater group of friends and for that…I thank you whole-heartedly," Jason said finally. The gang, including Littlefoot, all looked up at Jason who was smiling as best he could and, they too, swallowed hard and tried their best to offer a brave smile of their own. Even Littlefoot tried but it looked painful to show. As the smiles quickly faded, the peaceful little glade suddenly became entrapped in a deathly silence which robbed them all of their voices and their ability to maintain eye contact with each other. Then, unable to bear the tension any longer, Littlefoot stood up and turned to head out of the glade.

"Wh-Littlefoot?" Jason stuttered, alarmed to see him suddenly get up and leave.

"It's okay Jason…you don't have to say anymore," Littlefoot said sulkily leaving Jason speechless as he blinked at him in surprise, "it's your decision…I can't say anything to get you to stay, I understand why you want to go…it's fine…" Littlefoot glanced at him with a horribly depressed expression that wrenched at Jason's heartstrings so hard it hurt.

"L-Littlefoot but…I don't WANT to go…I…" Jason stammered but his voice started to trail off, "I…I don't have a choice." Littlefoot didn't reply. What he had said before wasn't exactly true but it sounded like the right thing to say. He still couldn't see Jason's logic for deciding to leave but he felt he it was something he just had to say. Breaking eye contact with his departing friend, Littlefoot turned away and headed out of the copse with his head hung low.

"Littlefoot? Where are you going?" Ducky asked reaching out to him.

"Nowhere…just…just need a walk…that's all…" he replied morbidly.

"Ohh…Littlefoot…" Jason sighed as he watched him disappear behind the surrounding trees and out of sight. With a deep breath, Jason wandered over to the large rock, picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Hey! Where are YOU going now?" Cera called as Jason turned to walk out in the opposite direction.

"That's it Cera…this discussion is over. I'm tired and I'm heading back," Jason answered taking a step towards the gap in the trees.

"But what about Littlefoot?" Ali asked signaling for him to go after him.

"No Ali…I think Littlefoot wants to be alone for a while. I think…I think he needs some time without me around…somehow, I think it's something he needs to start getting used to…" Jason said sadly. With that, Jason left the sheltered clearing, leaving the rest of the gang in a baffled silence.

For the rest of the day, the gang went their separate ways, occupying their time any way they could. Before the afternoon was even over, each of them found themselves back in the company of their parents feeling down and beaten. All apart from Littlefoot who was floating around from one area of the Great Valley to another like a ghost looking for some means of sanctuary. His mind was flooded with so many thoughts and memories of everything that had happened since his first ever encounter with Jason all that time ago. It seemed like he had known him for years but now, their time together was drawing to a close. The memories shot and flashed before his mind's eye in a blinding montage. Their first meeting in the Forest of Fear, the introductions to the gang and his grandparents, the daring rescues Jason performed and the encounter with the Red Phoenix corporation. Everything replayed in Littlefoot's head from the dreams to the fights both in the Great Valley and in the human realm. The memories were becoming unbearably painfully to reminisce as Littlefoot felt a growing pressure welling up in his chest. Unable to contain it anymore, Littlefoot let out a deafening cry, beckoning to the heavens as it rang out and echoed throughout the valley.

Soon night fell, creeping over the Great Valley covering it with an inky sky blotted by thick clouds that sailed over the lazy, hanging crescent moon. The gang had not met up again for the remainder of the day but they could all feel something tugging at them; anchored deep within. Inexplicable as it was, the sensation was strengthening. Littlefoot had not been seen for hours but he was found by his grandparents curled up in his sleeping place. Seeing him lying motionless and soundlessly in his spot, Grandpa Longneck craned his head down to find him wide awake.

"So here you are Littlefoot. Have you been here all this time?" he asked softly. Littlefoot shook his head, his chin dragging through the grass that wavered in his face.

"Where have you been all day dear?" Grandma asked motheringly bending her head down to look at him.

"Nowhere…" Littlefoot said dismissively. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck glanced at each other worryingly.

"Littlefoot…about the humans…" Grandpa Longneck started.

"It's okay Grandpa. I've spoken to Jason about it. I know what they have to do…" Littlefoot said lifting his head off the ground to reanimate the stiff muscles in his neck.

"Littlefoot dear. I know it's going to be painful, but it is a matter we cannot interfere with, Grandma Longneck assured him, "we know how much Jason means to you…we will miss him too."

"You too?" Littlefoot hummed looking up at his grandparents for the first time and they nodded in verification.

"It is sad he has to leave…but it is better this way," she continued, "it is better he survives in his own time than he fall sick in our time."

"We spoke to the other humans, Jill and Stone."

"When was this?"

"This was after Cera, Ducky and your other friends went to find you. We spoke to Jason briefly once all of you had spoken together. As Jason left, Jill and Stone came over to our discussion area. They explained the situation to us in greater detail and of the threats they would have to face if they stayed. It is in their best interest that they return…and Jason along with them. He is a human after all."

"I know Grandpa…I just wish…I wish it didn't have to be this way. It's…it's just not fair!" Littlefoot said croakily, his emotions were beginning to overpower him.

"Yes Littlefoot, we understand; it doesn't seem fair. It is unfortunate that in the next few days, Jason will have to leave us. Stone told us that the human creation that brought them here will be ready in two days," Grandpa Longneck reported. Littlefoot hopped up in horrified shock.

"Two days! But Jason said it was THREE days!"

"It appears that their work required less time than they first thought," Grandma Longneck said sullenly, "Jill said that by the time the Bright Circle starts to rise on the second day, they will be leaving through that large blue light." Littlefoot felt his heart plummet like a weighty stone. It was bad enough Jason was leaving but now there was even less time before he was due to depart. The pain took a choking grip on Littlefoot's throat as he buried his face into his front feet.

"Ohhh…ohhh now Littlefoot…" Grandma Longneck sympathised stroking him gently with her face but it didn't seem to help.

"I…I don't…want him to go Grandma. It's not fair! It's…it's just not fair!" Littlefoot sobbed from under his foot.

"Oh Littlefoot…of course it won't seem fair but have you perhaps thought that you are thinking about this the wrong way?" Grandpa Longneck then said. Littlefoot looked up at his wise, old grandfather with a tear-stained face.

"Wh-what? The wrong way? Whad'dya mean Grandpa?" he puffed slightly breathless.

"Well, rather than getting upset about Jason leaving, why not think about how happy you were together and cherish those memories," Grandpa suggested with a warm smile. Despite his tears, the idea seemed to make Littlefoot feel a little better.

"Y…yeah…I guess so…" Littlefoot sniffled. He wiped his face on his leg to brush off his tears that sparkled in the moonlight and tingled on his scaly skin.

"Also Littlefoot. Don't forget that there is still time to meet Jason tomorrow. Make the most of your remaining time together; the last thing you'll want is a repeat of what happened today. I'm sure you won't want your friendship to remain broken by something that you, Jason and your friends all know must be," Grandma Longneck added. Littlefoot looked up at his grandparents as one final tear dropped from his eye but as it rolled off his face and into the grass, he nodded.

"You're right Grandma. Even though he has to go, I'll have to make the most of what time we have left. It's like you said to me once…we all have to learn to accept what the Great Circle of Life gives to us…even if it's something we don't want to happen," Littlefoot said virtuously jumping up to standing, "I'm gonna go and find Jason tonight and…"

"I don't think that would be wise Littlefoot," Grandpa Longneck said stopping him before he had the chance to move.

"But why not Grandpa? I thought you and Grandma said…" Littlefoot protested but his grandfather shook his head.

"With all the runnings of emotions today, it would be wiser to allow the pains of the day to settle down for the night. Let the events of the new day be a fresh start set aside from what has already happened. It could cause greater upset or confusion if more is applied to today's goings-on," Grandpa Longneck advised as he coaxed Littlefoot back into his sleeping spot.

"Jason won't be joining us tonight because he felt you needed your time and space, but I also think he needed some of his own. He wanted you to sleep on it, as I'm sure so does he."

"J…Jason…said that?" Littlefoot asked settling down again.

"Yes. When we caught up with him after you children spoke. He said he'd be with the other humans, Jill and Stone."

"Okay then. Then tomorrow I'll go find Jason and we'll spend what time we have left together," Littlefoot said gallantly.

"That's good to hear from you Littlefoot. A very grown-up and mature response," Grandma Longneck smiled as she nuzzled him affectionately, "now, try and get some sleep. Dream of your fun and adventures together as friends and let your memories set your path for your meeting tomorrow so it can be a happy occasion."

"I will Grandma…thank you. You too Grandpa," Littlefoot smiled, "goodnight."

"Goodnight little one…pleasant dreams," Grandpa Longneck said sweetly as he and Grandma Longneck moved to their spot to settle down to rest.

The night wore on but Littlefoot was finding it difficult to sleep with his brain buzzing so noisily. His emotions were still running on a slight high but now, determination to make the most of the day tomorrow filled him with a small sense of excitement. On a few occasions, he took a lasting gaze at darkened silhouette of Jason's empty tree where he used to sleep next to him. There was still an uncomfortable bubbling of looming loss of something dear welling up in the pit of Littlefoot's stomach but he was trying his hardest to suppress it and for the time being, he did have the better of it. Eventually, the mad humming in his mind muted and Littlefoot slowly drifted off doing exactly as his Grandma had suggested. Dreaming of all the fun and adventurous escapades he and his friends had endured since Jason's arrival. As he dreamt, somewhere in his subconscious, he was also thinking about the final day…the day before the morning where their adventure finally ends. Although he couldn't consciously realise it, a silent tear rolled from one eye and into the soft swaying grass.

Chapter 82: Friends in Our Hearts

A new day dawned with an uncharacteristic gusty wind that rustled the trees and decorated the air with leaf-litter shrapnel that danced on the breathy breeze as they glided majestically to the floor. The sun had barely peeked over the shoulder of the mountains surrounding the Great Valley but Littlefoot was already wide awake. His sleep was restless that night, complete with strange dreams that forced him out of his slumber sometime before the first signs of daylight. On numerous occasions, Littlefoot had gotten up and wandered around for a few minutes, with sleep far from his mind. He was trying to logically piece together ideas, thoughts and things to say and do with Jason on, what was now, his final day before his scheduled departure tomorrow morning. Having gotten up and paced up and down for he seventh time in the space of half an hour, Littlefoot finally settled down in his little sleeping pit again. The ground had gone cold again and rolling back up into it made Littlefoot shiver. Sighing as the icy tremor flicked out the end of his tail, Littlefoot stared at the wavering grass. The thought of Jason leaving still stung like a burning thorn lodged deep and firm in his chest but he knew now that nothing could change what was to occur.

Time continued to drift by all without meaning. He wasn't sure how long he had been lying there as if to expect something to drop in on him but it hadn't arrived yet. Responding to the warm, tingling on his skin, Littlefoot looked up to the sun rising over the mountains which was now more than half showing over the defensive wall, brightening the dawn skyline. Littlefoot, having scorched a glowing semi-circle into his vision, looked down at his grandparents who were still asleep. He couldn't stand it any longer. He had to see Jason again and kick start the day; the remaining time was as valuable as diamond dust to him and he didn't want to waste another second of it. With one last breathy and nasally sigh, Littlefoot stood up and went off to find Jason.

Traipsing through the first row of bushes and into the nearest field, Littlefoot eyed all the herds and families all huddled together in tight, little colonies. All peaceful, all very close, all so secure and happy as they slept; all confident in the fact that they had each other by their sides. All the familiar feelings Littlefoot had felt with a certain boy he saw more as a lost sibling than a strange, alien acquaintance that the others saw him as. From one field to the next, Littlefoot trudged on, pushing through bordering shrubberies and dense thickets until at last , he found himself on the perimeter of the Forest of Fear where he froze. He had suddenly started having second thoughts. What if Jason wasn't ready? What if Jason didn't particular want to see him right now? Did he want to see him AT ALL after their snappy row yesterday? Was it too early to go see him? If he was still asleep, waking him up might not be the best way to start off the day; namely on another argument. Littlefoot looked up to the sky which had now turned a blurry turquoise with the crawling sun as it clambered steadily higher. Dropping his gaze back down to the forest, Littlefoot swallowed his tormenting negativities and stepped in.

Following the path of fallen trees sign-posting the way to the Red Phoenix complex, Littlefoot soon found the battered concrete structure sitting in its forcefully made grove bathed in the early morning sunlight. Those niggling anti-thoughts were starting to creep up on him again as he pushed open the wire gate with his bowed head. Determined not to let them gain control, Littlefoot tried his hardest to push them to the back of his mind and focus more on what he was going to say to Jason once he met up with him again. It was more difficult than he realised as they kept leaping forward every so often like two battling frequencies trying to make their way to the forefront of Littlefoot's mind. As the thoughts scrambled frantically in his head, Littlefoot approached the front door, which strangely enough was hanging wide open, bouncing on its hinges in the rushing wind that meandered its way through the skinny trees. With a dismissive shrug, Littlefoot entered the building.

The usual, cold shudder snaked its way up and through Littlefoot's body as his feet touched the icy marble flooring which was cracked and uneven in places. The complex seemed eerie as Littlefoot's clapping footsteps rang out in the claustrophobic corridors. All the laboratories were dark and abandoned, the equipment untouched and covered in dust and rocky debris. One lab that housed a number of metal containment pods identical to the one the Red Phoenix was in when she made her first appearance bore a gaping hole in the ceiling, allowing daylight from the outside to pour in. The entire room was blackened from some means of violent explosion. The walls were all carbonised and the equipment lay sprawled in random places all damaged and unusable. Littlefoot readjusted his view back to his path to continue his search for Jason.

Turning a corner, he began peering through open doorways hoping to find Jason in one of the dingy dormitories but the further he wandered down the echoing hallway, the less he saw of any means of life let alone finding Jason. Taking a right at a T-junction blindly, Littlefoot bumped into someone standing just beyond the bend.

"Oooo. Who the…?" the figure yelp whirling around, "Oh Littlefoot! It's just you."

"Oh, sorry Jill. I didn't mean to walk into you," Littlefoot apologised feeling a little embarrassed for not looking where he was going.

"It's alright kiddo. No harm done," Jill smiled fixing her beret, "So what's up? What brings you here so early? Or is that a daft question?"

Littlefoot giggled lightly. "I was looking for Jason. Do you know where he is?"

"Erm…no actually," Jill replied shrugging her shoulders, "I went to see if he was all right after last night. He was in a bit of a bad way."

"A bad way? W…How'd you mean?" Littlefoot stammered sounding concerned.

"Just really moody. I'd blame it on teenage hormones in any normal situation like this but I think he was a bit emotional about everything that's been said recently," Jill said sympathetically. Littlefoot remained silent. Clearly, Jason had felt the same tidal changes in emotional fluctuations just as he had last night. Jill started to walk down the hall and Littlefoot followed.

"Stone and I had a chat with him last night before he turned in. Or tried to at least. I doubt he slept well but I haven't seen him at all this morning."

"Where was he sleeping?" Littlefoot asked as he strolled alongside Jill. She came to a sudden stop by a half-opened doorway about two-thirds of the way down the hall.

"He was staying in here but the last I saw of him was when we were talking in the Operations Room yesterday." Jill pushed the door inwards allowing it to roll on its rusty hinges and signed for Littlefoot to look inside. Littlefoot bent his head around the door to examine the room. Barely illuminated by the weak lighting strip on the ceiling, the room was completely empty. The only piece of evidence that there had been someone in the dormitory at all was the bed. The sheets were ruffled and thrown to one corner of the bed and the pillow still had a concave dent in it where someone's head had evidently been resting.

"He's…not here?" Littlefoot hummed curiously, "Where could he be then?"

"Beats me," Jill shrugged again, "my bet is that he's out in the Great Valley somewhere. His bag's gone too. I'd imagine he's been wandering outside since the early hours of this morning."

'The way in was open when I came. I wonder where he went to…" Littlefoot hummed now in processing thought.

"Dunno. If he went to find you then I guess you both musta had the same idea in mind. You probably walked right by each other and not realised," Jill joked but Littlefoot didn't reply. He started to turn around and double back into the Valley.

"If he's out in the Valley somewhere then I better find him," Littlefoot announced.

"Sounds like a good plan. You guys only have the day so you better make the most of it," Jill advised smiling. Littlefoot nodded and quickened his pace to head for the exit.

His trot accelerated into a run as Littlefoot leapt out of the Red Phoenix complex and back into the forest. At full, bounding strides, Littlefoot tore through the darkened undergrowth and out into the bright fields where the inanimate herds of dinosaurs had awoken and were millying about, doing their own things as normal. Robbing himself of the necessary time to catch his breath, Littlefoot shot off again to search all the hotspots he could think that Jason could possibly be. After a while, having searched the Bubbling Mud, Green Meadow, numerous passes and taken a bird's eye view from Great Valley Lookout, Littlefoot exhaustively made his way to the Tall Trees where he found Cera, Petrie, Ducky, Spike, Ali and the Threehorn Twins, Dinah and Dana.

"Littlefoot! Where have you been all this time?" Cera huffed disapprovingly as Littlefoot panted heavily and finally collapsed on the ground.

"WE been looking all over for you Littlefoot. Where you go?" Petrie cawed transferring from a low tree branch to Littlefoot's back, almost losing his balance as the young longneck's torso rose and fell sharply with his rushed and laboured breathing.

"I was…looking…f-for…Jason…" he wheezed.

"I thought you might be," Ali said watching Littlefoot slowly stand up on his shaky, fatigued legs. The twins giggled as they saw Petrie topple off Littlefoot's back and somehow hover over the ground just before landing face-first on it.

"So…did you find him?" Ducky asked optimistically but Littlefoot shook his head.

"No…I went everywhere but I couldn't find him."

"But where he go?" Petrie asked perching on a rock, slightly precarious of landing on something living in case it threw him off again.

"That's just like him. The last day we have together and he decides to go missing," Cera snorted. Littlefoot frowned and was about to open his mouth to retort when Dinah suddenly started becoming excitable.

"Danee! Danee! Kew-sie na-no ee-sa?" she piped hopping up and down.

"Yay Dinee! Danee has-sie mee-la!" her brother squeaked hyperactively.

"What's with you two?" Cera said furrowing her brow at her niece and nephew.

"Auntie Cerie no-ie no ess-cha?" Dinah asked tilting her head to one side with an adorably cute expression of naivety .

"Did I not what?" Cera asked looking confused. All eyes turned to Ducky for some means of a translation.

"What is it twins?" she quizzed standing nose-to-nose with them. They mumbled something to Ducky who nodded and propped her head up high for a second as if to be searching for something.

"Well Ducky? What'd they say?" Ali asked as the little saurolophus backed away from the baby triceratops twins.

"They said that they can hear something?" she reported trying hard to listen to the air.

"Hear something?" Cera hummed perplexed, "Like what?"

"Eee-sa moozica Cerie!" Dana beamed as he danced around with Dinah.

"Yay, yay! Eee-sa Two-Legs' moozica!" she squeaked as she continued her trotting dance routine with her brother.

"Two-Leg's…moozica?" Ali asked eyeing the gang evidently completely lost. The twins were still waltzing around each other regardless.

"Two-Legs? They mean Jason! It must be Jason's music they can hear!" Littlefoot suggested suddenly becoming very excitable himself.

"Uh huh! That is exactly what they are talking about! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped. Suddenly, Jason's song could be heard echoing around them. Every note at the perfect pitch and beautiful to listen to.

"Me hear it now!" Petrie exclaimed taking flight.

"But where is it coming from?" Cera asked flicking her head around to try to locate the source. In response to her question, Spike let out a gleeful little hum.

"I think Spike knows the way. He does!" Ducky giggled as she mounted his back.

"Then come on! Let's go find him!" Littlefoot chanted as Spike led the way out of the Tall Trees with Cera and the Threehorn Twins bringing up the rear.

After a few minutes, the gang found the source of the music as they followed the melody that floated on the wind. It led them all to a sunny enclosure with a large tree stump in the centre. And there, sat on the stump was the boy they had been looking for.

"Jason!" Littlefoot called out to him from the other side of the boundary hedges.

"Ah! So there you lot are. I was beginning to think I'd never find you today," Jason said spinning around to face the gang as they pushed their way through the plants. Dinah and Dana were the first ones to reach Jason as they zipped past Spike and Littlefoot bobbing up and down madly.

"Two-Legs! Two-Legs!" they cried.

"Nice to see you too twins," Jason smiled patting them both on the head making them beam widely.

"Where were you? Here all this time?" Ali asked as they all pulled up just in front of Jason.

"Nope. I've been searching for you guys all morning…well, besides me taking a wander just before dawn. Couldn't find you so, I sent you a message," Jason smiled with one arm wrapped around his right leg which was propped up on the stump, tucked under him.

"A message?" Littlefoot asked slightly confused but he 'oooh'ed in understanding as he watched Jason wave his piccolo in front of his face.

"I knew at least one of you would've recognised the song if I played it long enough," he smiled as he hopped off the tree stump to stand facing the troop of dinosaur kids, "well, seeing as we've found each other now, how about we head off and do something a little more interesting…seeing as time is now of the essence." The gang all exploded with a triumphant cheer before they all sped off to the nearest field. Their joy, however, did not last nearly as long as they had hoped.

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"Aww man! I can't believe this," Jason whined as he stood with an oversized leaf held over his head.

"Where did all this sky-water come from? It just started falling from out of nowhere!" Ali said bewildered. All seven of them, along with Dinah and Dana, were stood grumbling under a tree as the heavens opened up, drenching the Great Valley in a torrential downpour.

"The sky just clouded over so fast! It's been ages since the sky-water's fallen this hard," Littlefoot said blinking in surprise as a raindrop managed to weave its way through the sheltering canopy overhead and drip onto his nose.

"Yeah! And now is when the sky-water decides to fall this hard. Well this just perfect!" Cera grunted as she shuffled closer to the tree's trunk. The Threehorn Twins scurried to try and squeeze under their aunt to shield themselves from the rain.

"Yeah. Perfect weather for fish," Jason mumbled sarcastically as he stared out into the open field which was being battered by the rainfall, "can't say I've seen such a sudden change in weather before."

"Me neither. Sky-water not good for flying in," Petrie said flapping his soaked wings, flinging water everywhere.

"Hey! Petrie! Stop that!" Cera snapped as she received a faceful of watery shrapnel. Petrie cowered behind Spike's leg as she glowered at him threateningly.

"Me sorry…" he quickly replied peeking out from his defensive wall.

"Come on guys. The sky-water isn't that bad," Ducky said trying to brighten everyone's dampened spirits.

"Easy for you to say; you're a swimmer. You practically live in water," Cera moaned redirecting her gaze from the quivering Petrie to Ducky.

"So what are we going to do now then?" Ali whined.

"I don't think there is a lot we can do with so much sky-water falling," Littlefoot sighed defeated as he looked up at the blackened sky. Suddenly, Littlefoot was hit in the face by a splash. Having inhaled some of the rainwater, he snapped an accusing gaze up at nearest friend as he coughed and spluttered. It just so happened that Jason was the closest one to him but he quickly flicked a finger up and pointed at Spike as if to say '_it wasn't me…he did it'_ accompanied by a dumb expression. Littlefoot followed his finger to Spike who had a soppy wet leaf in his mouth that he tugged off the nearest bush. He had obviously managed to shake the bush as the leaf snapped off, flinging the rain that had settled on it in Littlefoot's face.

"Told you it wasn't me," Jason grinned. Littlefoot smiled but as he felt the water droplets run off his face, he suddenly had a thought. Staring out past Jason and into the rainstorm, he began to stroll out from under the tree's sheltering canopy and out into the thunderous downpour. The others all watched him, a little bemused as to why he was just standing there getting wet.

"What's he doing?" Ali mumbled to Cera who shook her head in uncertainty.

"Littlefoot? What are you…?" Jason began when all of a sudden, Littlefoot slapped his tail in the nearest puddle soaking Jason from head to toe. Jason was dumbstruck.

"Wha-Why you little!" he exclaimed flicking his dripping sleeves as Littlefoot burst into a laughing fit, "Oh! You are SOOOO dead!" he threatened playfully as he took a running leap and planted both feet heavily into the puddle nearest Littlefoot. The idea sort of backfired as it seemed to get him more wet than Littlefoot. Both of them laughed loudly splashing about in the pouring rain.

"What the! Now HE'S doing it!" Cera gawked.

"Aww c'mon Cera! Loosen up! Act your age!" Jason insisted kicking water at her.

"Ooooo…You're gonna wish you hadn't done that!" Cera warned as she charged out into the storm with a mischievous grin on her face. In an instant, all nine of them were running amuck in the monsoon of a downpour, none of them caring, even in the slightest about how hard it was coming down.

The joy and laughter of lasted for ages. Time flew by without a wonder. The rain slowly began to die out, softening as the clouds parted. The sun burned through once more allowing a giant, arching rainbow to paint itself in the sea blue sky.

"Oh lookie!" Ducky announced pointing at the multicoloured arch.

"Oh wow! The Sky-Colours are out!" Littlefoot beamed.

"Sky-Colours. I like that," Jason sniggered standing in line to look skywards.

"Well, what do humans call them then?" Cera barked almost indignantly.

"We call them 'rainbows'."

"Wain-bows?" Dinah reiterated as best she could.

"That's right. Raaaiiiiiinnnnnbboooowww."

"Wainbow!" she piped.

"Wainbow! Wainbow! Wainbow!" Dana sung in his babyish tone dancing about. The gang laughed just as they heard their parents calling for them. It was lunchtime. The gang bid each other farewell for now and split to eat.

The excited chatter home of the morning's events brought Littlefoot and Jason to the ankles of grandparents who were feeding in a nearby field. The brilliant strength of the prehistoric, midday sun had almost dried them off completely having spent the majority of their time splashing about in the rain. After a rushed, indigestion-induced lunch break, Littlefoot and Jason sped back off into the trees to rendezvous with the others again. As if they had all been communicating with each other by telepathy, all seven of them (plus the Threehorn Twins) bumped into each other (in Jason and Cera's case, literally as they approached from opposite ways and collided, wiping each other out). From this unintentional greeting, a huge game of tag spawned as Cera kicked Jason off shouting,

"Jason's it! Everyone run!"

"What? Hey! No fair!" Jason complained as he made a sprawling dive for Cera as she shot off. Failing miserably, Jason slid on the semi-damp ground and crashed face first into the base of a tree. Cera was in hysterics along with the rest of the gang as Jason stood up and massaged his numb face. Felling rather idiotic, Jason's expression slid into a playful yet sly mien as he sprung forward shouting,

"Here comes the SHARPTOOTH ATTACK!" The gang scarpered as Jason's leap landed in the centre of the group. Time flew by, again, all without meaning and before they knew it, all nine of them had migrated to an empty meadow where they collapsed, exhausted but all with great smiles on their faces.

"That…was…madness!" Jason wheezed as he flopped down on his back with his eye closed.

"A…a great…game…: Ali agreed passing out next to him, sighing deeply.

"Yeah…that was good…" Littlefoot said dropping to the ground between Cera and Spike as they both nodded and hummed in agreement.

"Me…just no know where that…game of 'boys versus girls'…suddenly come from," Petrie cawed breathlessly.

"Who knows…" Cera said dismissively as she and her two tiny passengers dropped to the ground, "but us girls totally ruled that game."

"No way! The boys so kicked your feminine butts into next week!" Jason objected rolling onto his side.

"Nuh uh! We so kicked your tails!" Cera retorted.

"Bub Auntie Cerie? Two-Legs no-ie no-no a swooshy tail," Dinah babbled innocently.

"Whose side are you on?" Cera said frowning at her niece. The others laughed as Dinah shied away and slid back, next to her brother. Having argued about who overruled whom for at least half an hour, the gang eventually settled down and found themselves staring up at the sky which was now beginning to turn beautiful fiery shades of oranges and reds as the sun began to set. Entrapped by the magnificence of the forthcoming twilight, the gang remained silent; just gazing thoughtlessly up into the clouds. Even the hyperactive Threehorn Twins had found a quiet spot for a little nap; perched on top of one another.

"What a day huh," Cera sighed breaking the silence.

"Oh yes, yes, yes! This has been a good day," Ducky agreed. Spike nodded and hummed seconding the statement.

"It kinda seems weird being able to play like that given all the stuff that's happened recently," Ali then said.

"How'd you mean Ali?" Jason quizzed rolling from his back onto his front to look at her.

"Well…erm…just everything really. All that stuff with those magic stones, the Red Phoenix, going to the human world…things like that," Ali explained in a hurry. She almost wished she hadn't said anything.

"Yeah. I can see what you mean," Cera replied making Ali feel a little more relieved.

"It was pretty strange I'll admit and I doubt the Great Valley will ever be the same now that it's all happened," Littlefoot said.

"I wonder what will happen to those pretty, magic stones now," Ducky said airily.

"Who can say…" Jason replied throwing his hands over the back of his head to lay on them like a make-shift pillow, "hopefully with madmen like Westwood and the Red Phoenix Corporation done with, something of that magnitude won't happen again." The others all nodded in undisputed agreement.

"But hey! It brought us one hell of an adventure eh?" Jason continued smiling broadly which infectiously spread to the faces of everyone else looking at him. Just then, as they all lay there in the failing light, the gang heard their folks calling for them from what sounded like the same point. Responding to their hollers, all seven if them (complete with two dreary threehorn toddlers) set out in the direction of the beckoning voices.

It didn't take the gang long to discover the majority of the Great Valley's inhabitants were congregated in the usual meeting spot through the great, arching, rock formation entrance. Along with the regular inhabitants, the group also found Jill, Stone, Zephyr, the leader of Ali's herd and a healthy fraction of Ali's heard all stood in the naturally formed auditorium.

"Ah, there you are children," Grandpa Longneck beamed welcomingly as they strolled into the centre of the stage.

"Grandpa? What's going on?" Littlefoot asked curiously coming to a halt at his hanging nose which was at their eye-level.

"The humans are announcing their plan for their return home to the human world," Ducky's mother spoke.

"Yeah, and about time too!" Cera's father grumbled more than loud enough for Jason to hear but Jason pretended he hadn't caught wind of it.

"Basically, I think they wish to explain the situation to us dinosaurs so we do not become unsettled by any strange happenings that may occur when they actually leave," Grandma Longneck elaborated.

"Me geddit. They no wanna make anymore surprises happen for when they go," Petrie said.

"That's pretty much what she just said Petrie," Cera said indignantly, rolling her eyes.

"I think they wanted you children here to listen too," Petrie's mother said.

"To fill us in as well obviously," Jason said rather bluntly. He turned and gazed over at Jill and Stone with Zephyr. Without another word, he marched over to them with the gang following close behind; minus Dinah and Dana who had trudged sleepily over to their grandfather Threehorn to turn in for the night.

"There you are Jason. Wondering where you'd gotten to," Stone said chummily, raising his hand for a hi-five but Jason just ignored him.

"So what's this? The final call for boarding?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"I guess you could put it that way," Jill said sniggering at Stone who looked hard-done-by for being left hanging, "just wanna make sure that no more of our weird voodoo trickery with lights and sounds spook anyone else when we activate the Chronos Doorway."

"So everything's set up and in place then?" Jason asked looking unamused.

"Yep," Stone verified patting Zephyr on the head, "just gotta connect the power lines and get you to work your fancy magic and we'll be on our way."

"Great…" Jason murmured minimally.

"Well, since everyone's here, we may as well get on with it," Jill said before clearing here throat to begin.

The audience of dinosaurs stood and listened attentively as Jill and stone explained to the crowd what was due to happen tomorrow. The night sky had stealthily painted its cloudless heavens a tranquil shade of indigo encrusted with gleaming stars that glittered and shone like rare crystals. The air was warm and the whole discussion area was bathed in silvery moonlight. The gang had taken a high perch on one of the upper levels of the rimmed bowl just so they could see over the towering heads of the longnecks. The majority of the group were tuned into the announcements Jill was bellowing from the centre of the auditorium but Jason's attention seemed to be drawn everywhere else except to Jill and Stone. He was gazing around like an ignorant schoolboy refusing to concentrate and acknowledge what the teacher was explaining. Littlefoot, breaking from the announcement as Stone took over from Jill, glanced over at Jason to see him staring over the tops of heads and out into the fields and trees beyond. He clearly wasn't interested in what was being said below. He was staring blankly into space as if all that was being said was old news and didn't concern him. Sensing a hot, burning stare on the back of his neck, Jason turned to find Littlefoot looking at him, dead in the eye. The young longneck's expression dropped asking the silent question, "Are you all right?" Jason smiled in response before standing up.

"What's wrong?" Littlefoot whispered lowly so not to disturb the others.

"Bored…" Jason said stretching his legs which had fallen asleep, "I don't wanna spend my last day sitting here listening to a lecture."

"Don't you want to know about what's going to happen?" Littlefoot asked.

"Do I really need to? I've spoken to them about all this already. I don't need to hear it again," Jason replied shuffling as discreetly as he could towards the archway exit.

"Where are you going?" Littlefoot asked standing up.

"Anywhere but here," Jason said gazing into the distance, "hey! How about we meet up on that hill over there. Under the large tree." Littlefoot followed Jason's extended finger up to a lonely looking hill with a thick-based trees standing on its peak.

"Yeah sure," Littlefoot said. With a quick nudge at the others, Jason led the gang out of the auditorium and out into the fields.

Within a few minutes, all seven of them had arrived at the hill's summit. The buzzing of the conversation going on in the meeting area was now just a faint murmuring in the distance. The gang settled underneath the tree as Jason wandered out into the moonlight.

"So what's the matter then Jason?" Ali asked as if they had been called out for something of dire urgency.

"Yeah. Why'd you drag us out here?" Cera piped in.

"Ohh…no real reason," Jason said innocently, pivoting on his heels to gaze at them, "just thought we'd escape the lecturing pit, that's all. It's all stuff we've heard before so why listen to it again?"

"Me guess me understand," Petrie cawed looking a little puzzled still. Jason smiled but Littlefoot seemed to see something beyond his enlightened expression.

"Is that the only reason why you came out here?" he asked caringly but cautiously, "Come on Jason, what is it? What's really on your mind?" Jason sighed and shook his head as it hung low; his smiled ceasing to fade.

"Saw through me huh?" Jason said admittingly as he reverted his glance back up to lock eyes with Littlefoot. Littlefoot, besides being a little confused, looked awestruck. Silently, Jason turned around to look out over the Great Valley from their vantage point. The group watched Jason taken a few steps further out from under the tree and beyond the hill's summit.

"I guess…I just…wanted to have one last look at the Great Valley…" he said lowly with his back to the gang, "just…wanted to capture this beautiful scene. Savour the moment one last time y'know…before…I have to… leave it all behind."

The gang, one by one, wandered over to stand beside Jason in a lateral line. They too cast their views over the low lying fields. The grass was a deep shade of navy as were the patchy canopies of the bordering trees which were still flaking off their leaves for the approaching winter. Silvery streaks of moonlight shimmered in a nearby lake serenaded by a nocturnal chorus of nightlife.

"I've never witnessed a landscape as magnificent as this, and I seriously doubt I'll find one more beautiful," Jason continued breathing deeply, "best of all, it was a place I could call home…even for a little while…and it has been an honour to be able to have done so. But…I guess…the best things in life are never meant to last."

"So if you like it here in the Great Valley, then why leave?" Ducky asked, touched by Jason's words of praise.

"I have to go Ducky. Believe me it's not by choice," he replied solemnly, "we humans don't belong here in the dinosaur realm. We've already made enough mess meddling with time's flow, now we have to amend our interfering. We have to restore the natural balance we have so foolishly disturbed."

"And the only way to do that is to go back?" Ali asked. Jason nodded glumly.

"Once we return to our own time, we call all get back to normal."

"But you could come back right? You could visit the Great Valley and we'll…" Petrie started but Jason shook his head again. This time without a smile.

"That won't be possible Petrie. My leaving is a one way trip. In me returning to 2113, I'd be righting the final wrong as I've been instructed to do."

"But it's not what you want though is it?" Cera huffed in protest.

Of course not! But I can't imagine what would occur if I were to remain behind. And I'd want that even less than wanting to leave…" Jason sighed feeling deflated.

"But what could possibly happen?" Littlefoot said trying to catch his eye.

"I…I don't know…but maybe…that's exactly what I'm afraid of…"

The gang fell silent. Spirits fallen in the sullen air of understanding that Jason's departure would in fact be inevitably permanent. The wind slowly began to strengthen as if to attempt of offer some comfort but it didn't prove any use.

"Look guys," Jason then said slowly, "I guess…this is my own pathetic way remembering stuff that's happened here. I wanted a lasting memory of everything…the fields, the mountains, the waterfalls, the sunrises and sunsets; all of it. But most of all, I want to remember you guys…and our experiences together…that's what I wanna remember. It pains me to think that everything can just be forgotten…just becoming another piece of meaningless history."

"Don't worry Jason…you will. Remember I mean," Ali then spoke up.

"Ali?"

"I know just how you feel. I was the same when I first came here. It made me wonder…wonder why my herd continues to migrate from place to place all the time. But, it is something that we have to do because…that's just the way it is."

"Ali…" Jason breathed astonished.

"But, even though I have to migrate, I have the best of memories of my friends here. I remember them and I will never forget those memories. If I think about them now and then, I can happy knowing that my friends are probably remembering too…and they're thinking of me." Jason was dumbstruck by Ali's words but she remained directly in front of him, smiling coyly.

"Yeah…yeah, you're right!" he finally said managing to force the words out of his hanging mouth, "If I refresh my memory of the Great Valley every now and again, there' no way I'd forget…anything…"

Ali nodded and smiled warmly as Jason dipped his head respectfully.

"Thank you Ali."

"Heh…no problem."

With that, the gang's dying spirits lifted and they all waddled into a tight ring as Jason spoke again,

"Well…I guess that's my saving grace. I suppose…the only…other thing to…"

Suddenly, voices rang out over the Valley interrupting Jason in mid-speech.

"Oh! That is Mama Spike! I think we had better go since it is very dark," Ducky announced in response to her mother's calls.

"Me better go too. Mama no like me flying around in the dark. She say me might fly into tree and hurt meself," Petrie said stretching his wings to take off.

"And have you?" Jason asked. Petrie snorted.

"Me not that bad a flyer! Me only hit six trees and one rock all today! But…most of those during the day," Petrie then smiled as he floated above Ducky riding aboard Spike as they disappeared down the opposite side of the hill.

"Think I'd better go too before Daddy shouts for…" Cera began but she cringed as a powerful bellow erupted over the area, "never mind…COMING DADDY!" With that, she shot off to find her booming father's voice.

"I guess we'll head back to the meeting place. I think my herd will be waiting for me there to regroup," Ali suggested.

"Sure Ali. Come on, let's go," Littlefoot said heading down the hill and back the way they came. Ali followed behind and Jason, with a somewhat disappointed, defeated sigh, brought up the rear.

The three of them made it back through the rocky archway and back into the meeting place.

"So there you children are. We were starting to wonder where you had gotten to. We can't seem to keep track of you nowadays," Grandpa Longneck chuckled as they approached.

"We just went up to that hill over there Grandpa; we didn't go far," Littlefoot said pointing with his head.

"Well, come now children. Time for you all to settle down for the night," Grandma Longneck told them. Littlefoot and Jason bade Ali goodnight and they were soon on their own.

"Well…I guess I better be going. You probably want to get back home," Jason said sounding slightly downed, "where's Jill and Stone? Gone back already?"

"Yes, they left a little while ago," Grandma Longneck said.

"Well, I'll catch them. I guess I…"

"Jason, one moment," Grandpa Longneck said as Jason turned to leave.

"Hmm?" Jason hummed slowly twisting on his heels to look up at the mighty dinosaur.

"Would you prefer to stay with us tonight?" Grandpa Longneck offered, "If you prefer, you could come home with us and stay the night there."

"Y…you sure?" Jason stuttered still awestruck.

"Of course. That is, unless, you'd prefer to go back with Jill and Stone? We really don't…" Grandma Longneck said but Jason shook his head violently from side to side, flapping his hand in a mad wave.

"Oh no, no! I mean, of course. I'd love to come back with you," Jason said hurryingly. He didn't notice but Littlefoot, standing at the feet of his grandparents, smiled feeling heartened by his response.

"Well come on then boys. Let's go home," Grandpa Longneck announced with a wide grin.

"Yeah…let's," Jason smiled as he darted under their legs to walk alongside Littlefoot.

Given their miserable day, the night was glorious in comparison as Littlefoot and Jason walked on under the starry, inky sky. Their grandparents had overtaken them as Littlefoot and Jason strolled home, gradually further and further behind. Neither of them had said a word since they'd departed the meeting area not had they made much eye contact. Littlefoot soon realised that Jason's gait had slowed and he was no longer walking parallel to him. He paused for a second and turned back to look for Jason. He was dragging his feet in the dampened grass, with his hands dug deep in the pockets of his dirty jeans and head hung down with his eyes aimed just beyond his feet.

"Uh? Oh, sorry Littlefoot…" Jason said having nearly walked straight into him, "…sorry…I was miles away." Littlefoot smiled, accepting his apology.

"What's wrong?" he then asked trying to connect with his low, wandering eyes.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just daydreaming." Jason's mind was clearly off wandering elsewhere. Reality having not quite fully tuned back in.

"Daydreaming? At night?" Littlefoot smirked.

"You know what I mean," Jason grinned.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just thinking about…………getting back into that tree of mine. I hope it's not too drenched from all that rain earlier."

"It'll be like sleeping in the watering hole," Littlefoot joked. They both laughed lightly.

"Come on. Grandpa and Grandma Longneck are streaks ahead of us already. We'd better hurry it up," Jason suggested. Littlefoot nodded and they both quickened their pace to catch up.

Before long, all four of them arrived at their destination and they began to settle down. Thankfully, the sheltering canopies of the trees overhead had kept their sleeping spot relatively dry and so, Jason's petrified tree wasn't the swimming pool he had envisioned; for which he, himself, was grateful.

"Well, I guess this will be the last night I'll be spending with you," Jason said as he readied himself to clambering into the Y-shaped, open of the tree.

"I suppose so," Grandpa Longneck said dipping his head to give Jason a platform to hop up from.

"But it does not have to be a sad occasion," Grandma Longneck said with an optimistic smile, "we can be grateful that we had the chance to sleep together one last time rather than seeing it as something to be disheartened about."

"Yeah…I guess that's a better way of looking at it," Jason said looking down from his fostering grandparents, then down to Littlefoot and back up again, "Grandma…? Grandpa…? I wanna thank you…y'know…for taking me in for so long and…well…just taking care of me. I really appreciate it."

"You are very welcome dear," Grandma Longneck smiled motheringly.

"We must also thank you Jason, for the many things you have done for us," Grandpa Longneck added. Jason gawked in dumbfounded awe.

"Me Grandpa? Why? I haven't done anything."

"On the contrary. If it hadn't been for you, a number of us may not be here now. Out Littlefoot for one," Grandpa Longneck said.

"And your brave battle against your own mother. You were prepared to give your life to save our Valley. We are also very grateful for that too," Grandma Longneck chimed in. Jason was speechless. He never imagined he'd be hearing his grandparents thanking HIM on the Great Valley's behalf.

"Well…I…erm…I'm flattered but…I wasn't the only one who fought the Red Phoenix. I can't take all the credit," Jason said modestly.

"That maybe true, but you made the biggest sacrifice of out of everyone who did fight. We could not comprehend the magnitude of the situation so you and the rest of your kind took it upon yourselves to stand up for us. A noble effort, highly commendable," Grandpa Longneck continued. Jason, although greatly flattered, turned away. He didn't feel dignified to receive their praise.

"…You make me sound like some sorta hero…but I'm not. I'm the main reason why all this happened here in the first place…that's nothing heroic," he said weakly.

"Perhaps not, but you stood and faced your mistake and saved us all from a cruel fate you felt we did not deserve. Now that dear IS a display of heroism," Grandma Longneck told him. Jason looked up at his grandparents who were smiling. The friendly gesture that helped wash away what remained of his guilt.

"Well, I had Littlefoot and my friends with me every step of the way," he said now smiling also, "if I'm the hero you claim for me to be, then they are just as much of a hero as I am." Littlefoot felt his heart swell with honoured pride at Jason's words and he beamed widely as he gazed up at Jason from his settled position on the ground.

"Thanks Grandma…Grandpa. Thanks a lot," Jason smiled.

"And thank you Jason. And you too Littlefoot," Grandpa Longneck said nodding respectfully at each of them. He floated his head over them in turn where Littlefoot nuzzled his cheek and Jason hugged his huge nose.

"Goodnight Grandpa. Goodnight Grandma," they said in unison as Grandma Longneck received her nuzzle and cuddle.

"Goodnight boys…pleasant dreams," she said sweetly.

As the two elderly brontosauruses wandered to their sleeping spot, Littlefoot and Jason sighed happily and wriggled in their individual bed to get more comfortable.

"Well, best get settled then," Jason said down to the ground as he folded his hooded jumper into a square-like pillow.

"I guess so. G'night Jason…" Littlefoot said back up to the tree. He looked up to see Jason poke his head out through the cage of branches.

"G'night Littlefoot," he returned smiling to which Littlefoot answered with a smile of his own. Just as Littlefoot lowered his head to the grass to rest, he heard Jason's voice again,

"Oh…and Littlefoot?"

"Hmm?"

"…Thanks by the way." Littlefoot looked up at Jason's tree.

"Huh? Thanks? For what?"

"For everything. Caring for me, accepting me, guiding me around the Valley…but most of all…thanks for being my friend."

"Heh…you're welcome," Littlefoot smiled, "I guess I should thank you too…for being my friend too." They both chuckled on hearing each other's thanks and with one last contented sigh, they soon fell silent and fell asleep.

Having not slept terribly well, Jason was awake by the early hours of the morning. His mind was buzzing constantly but the noise didn't seem understandable. Like some alien language chattering away. It was useless trying to get to sleep again. His brain wouldn't permit it. Sitting up, he stretched up tall and groaned as his dormant muscles achingly shifted from their static, rigid positions to roll with his movements. Flopping his arms back down by his sides, Jason took a quick glance over the side of his elevated bed, down to the ground below. Littlefoot was sound asleep. His torso rising and falling, slowly and steadily with each husky breath as he dreamed his sweet dreams. He looked so peaceful, resting there completely undisturbed, it pained Jason to think that he'd be leaving such a good friend and his euphoric landscape. But he knew what had to be done.

Silently, Jason clambered down from his tree and gently stepped onto the soft grass that barely rustled beneath his feet. He looked across to his foster grandparents who were huddled up next to each other. The perfect visualisation of love and security. From his elders, he took another look down to Littlefoot who was still locked away in a blissful slumber. Jason's stomach plummeted like he'd just swallowed a heavy stone. He wanted to speak to Littlefoot one last time before setting off but seeing him at his most peaceful in such a long time, Jason just didn't have the heart to wake him. And for what? To remind him one again that he was returning to London; 2113? "_What's the point,"_ Jason thought to himself. Dipping down, Jason picked up his bag and slung it carelessly over one shoulder. His eyes stung in the cool air as he gazed at Littlefoot and the thought of everything he'd be leaving behind replayed over in his head. He hadn't even said goodbye to Littlefoot, his grandparents or any of his friends…and now, it looked as though, even if he said it now, it was doomed to fall on deaf ears.

"Goodbye Littlefoot…" Jason whispered hoarsely, "thanks for everything…take care of yourself." Littlefoot's only reply was a deep inhale and sharp exhale but he remained oblivious to what Jason had just said. Swallowing hard and feeling a large, uncomfortable lump of grievance slide down his throat, Jason turned to the open pathway in the surrounding trees and walked out of the enclosure.

Trudging through the dimly lit fields and meadows, Jason glanced around at the lush scenery which was still slightly damp from the torrential downpours of yesterday yet it made the air smell sweet. This, however, completely contrasted Jason's mood as hr dragged his feet through the moistened grass to make his way up to the Great Valley border where Jill and Stone had been restoring the Chronos Doorway.

By the time Jason reached his destination up by the Great Wall on the edge of the Valley, the first signs of daylight were beginning to show. The early morning sun was shyly creeping over the shoulders of the enclosing mountain ranges surrounding the Great Valley. Jason looked up to the top of the hill to see the cold, grey, metallic, ugly bulk that was the Chronos Doorway. It's huge, arching ring looped high above him and continued to stretch higher up to the sky as he climbed up the inclining slope. Jason snorted at the hideous machine that seemed ill-fitting in such a wondrous natural backdrop. It looked out of place but somehow, he knew how that felt recently.

Just as Jason dropped his gaze from the mighty ring, he heard the sound of footsteps coming up from behind him.

"Jason! Well I never would've expected to see you up here before us," Sergeant Stone called as he, Jill and Zephyr appeared from over the hill's slope. He was carrying an armful of bag. Jason, however, didn't respond.

"Lousy night huh?" Jill asked as if she already knew the answer to her question, but Jason nodded all the same, "thought as much. Don't worry. We'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible." Jason found Jill's eyes which were soft and understanding along with a supporting smile.

"Yeah…sure," Jason said weakly.

"Fine…" she nodded before turning to Stone, "got everything? Let's get this thing fired up." Stone nodded as he dumped his load of bags down by the Doorway's computer terminal and began working on it.

Jason remained on the same spot and was glancing down into the Great Valley as the sun's light intensity slowly strengthened, illuminating the land.

"You okay?" Jill then asked from his left hand side.

"Hmm? Oh…yeah…I'm okay…" he replied airily.

"Gonna miss it all?"

"That's a bit of a stupid question." Jason's tone was dry but he forced a grin to suppress the harshness of his sentence. He didn't mean to be snappy but he wasn't in the mood for probing questions on how he was feeling.

"Guess it was. Sorry," Jill smiled, casting her view over the Valley below, "I've enjoyed my time here. This place is something else. Definitely something special. Hope you said you goodbyes while you were down there."

"Erm…well…not exactly…" Jason slurred.

"You didn't! Why not?" Jill asked looking surprised.

"Dunno. Just…couldn't say it…something I'll probably now regret."

"It's okay. At least you got to see them all one last time before we set off."

"Yeah…I guess so…"

Somehow, that didn't make Jason feel any better. He knew Jill only had his feelings in mind but it wasn't helping calm the flashes of emotions flowing through him. Having suggested that he'd regret not saying a proper goodbye to his friends, that nauseating sensation suddenly started bubbling and blistering in the pit of his stomach. How could he NOT have said goodbye? All it was was one pathetic word yet…it was impossible to say it. Not without someone getting hurt but it; either himself or the person he'd be saying it to. Jason began to feel guilt pile on top of the niggling feeling of regret, slowly increasing the pressure that was crushing his insides like a clamping vice.

"Energy cells charged. All power line connected. All we need now is for our man to work his magic and we're good to go," Stone announced signaling towards Jason.

"Okay," Jill acknowledged as she turned back to Jason, "c'mon kiddo…let's get this over with eh? The quicker the better right?" Jason looked over to Jill feeling deflated but he nodded with a masking confidence.

Slowly, Jason turned and walked up to the console. Hesitating for a second, Jason held the ruby of his pendent in his left hand. It felt warm in his grasp.

"Righting the final wrong…" Jason whispered to himself, trying to clear his thoughts clouded but his emotions. Taking a deep breath, Jason slowly raised his right hand to touch the console. Suddenly, as if something had called out to him, Jason froze. His hand hovering barely an inch over the computer terminal. He could almost sense something in the air like something was about to happen but he couldn't determine what. He then heard Jill gasp in surprise.

"Jason! Look!" Stone hollered to him. Nervously, Jason slowly turned around. To his great shock and astonishment, he saw a young longnecked dinosaur standing on the peak of the hill. The dawn sky glowed behind him making him look like a heavenly figure descended from the clouds. On his face was a warm, friendly smile that could have melted the coldest and iciest for hearts.

"Li…Littlefoot!" Jason gasped in amazement, his jaw hanging open. Littlefoot nodded retaining his huge smile. Jason blinked and then realised that more dinosaurs were appearing from behind him. Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali all came into view followed by, much to Jason's ever increasing surprise, more dinosaurs. Elders from the Great Valley had joined the gang and were assembled at the hill's summit. Jason could hardly believe his eyes at the audience gathered before him. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck, Cera's father and the Threehorn Twins, the rest of the gang's parents, a good portion of Ali's herd including her mother and its aged leader. Not only them, but a large number of other Great Valley residents had come up from their homeland to join the massive parade. Jason was dumbstruck. This was probably the largest gathering of Great Valley dinosaurs and visitors he had ever witnessed.

"Wha…Littlefoot?" Jason stammered, "Wha…what's this all about?"

"What? Did you really think we'd let you go without a proper goodbye?" Littlefoot said with a playfully, brisk tone. Jason wanted to say something but nothing came to mind. The shock of the sudden assembly had left him blank-minded. Instead, he just shut his gaping mouth and smiled.

"We came to see you off," Ali said stepping forward.

"Yep, yep, yep! We wanted to make sure we saw you again before you lefted," Ducky chirped merrily. Jason chuckled. He felt so much happier with all his friends and familiar faces he had come to recognise standing around him. Walking towards the gang that stood at the front of the formed semi-circle, he scanned as many pairs of eyes as he could; each one adding strength to his smile and making it grow wider. He was completely lost in the moment. Out of anything and everything that could have happened this morning, he certainly hadn't expected this.

Jason came to a gradual halt a few feet from Littlefoot and the gang who stood, front and centre, before him. He took a glance towards the sky to see two very distinguishable faces in the sea of crests, heads and long necks that towered above him.

"Grandma…Grandpa…" Jason sighed happily.

"We also came to wish you well on your return journey," Grandma Longneck beamed lowering her head, hovering over the formation of juveniles to speak with Jason at his eye level.

"Yes, as did all the others," Grandpa Longneck added, dipping his head also, "all the dinosaurs or wanderers, have come to offer their thanks for your help with that recent dangerous situation as well as see you off."

"…Thank you…all of you…" Jason said bowing his head in respect. He felt a little embarrassed being directly in the spotlight. The crowd chattered approvingly, accepting his gratitude but Grandma Longneck hushed them all with audible blasts of breath.

"But, as well as our goodbyes, I believe there is a closer group that you should be speaking to," she said suggestively but with a warm tone. The clue wasn't in any way cryptic. Jason adjusted his gaze down to Littlefoot and the gang and with a deep breath, he stepped forward to confront them…one at a time, for one last time.

"Goodbye Ducky. Boy am I gonna miss your caring voice and friendly face. Not to mention your impeccable pronunciation of words," Jason said reaching forwards to hug her.

"And I will miss you very, very much Jason…I will. Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky chirped, her voice sweet and merry.

"Yeah…and that little catchphrase of yours too. Yep, yep, yep!" Jason laughed. Ducky twisted and smiled coyly as Jason ducked to a crouch to speak with Spike.

"Goodbye Spike. Nice knowing you. Take good care of your sister won't you?" Spike nodded and hummed as he licked Jason's cheek. Jason giggled as he wiped the damp side of his face and patted Spike gently on the head.

"Ahhh Spike. So caring. You're a great guy to talk to. You never judge people unfairly and you always listen to whatever anyone has to say."

"That cuz he no can talk!" Petrie chimed in. Jason turned to the little flyer.

"Petrie. Where am I going to hear all those witty remarks? And who's gonna show me how to reach those impossible highs? Flying way up there."

"Me no know. Maybe you make some wings of your own and you fly up there too. Then, you can see what me can see," Petrie replied smiling.

"Yeah. I certainty hope so. Thank you Petrie." Jason returned the smile and waved Petrie goodbye. He turned from Petrie to Cera but Jason paused in slight bewilderment as he looked at her.

"Cera…? Cera, are you all right?"

"Y…yeah. I'm fine…" she mumbled sounding a little strange. Jason leaned closer to her.

"Cera? A-are…are you crying?" Jason asked.

"N-no! No, I'm not…" Cera sniffled brushing her head against her front leg, "I…I've…just got something in my eye…that's all. Why…would I be crying? It's not like you're worth that…that much effort anyway!" Jason couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Cera tried desperately to recompose herself and retain her rock-steady, Threehorn stance.

"It's okay Cera…I'll miss you too," Jason said pretending that he knew better of Cera's demeanour than to display such a radical emotion. Still, seeing one last drop fall from the side of Cera's face, which wasn't shielded by her leg, he was starting to feel his stomach flutter and his chest pull tight a little in silent response. Swallowing hard, he turned from Cera to Ali who stood beside her.

"Ali...what can I say? We haven't exactly had the easiest of times becoming friends have we?"

"I guess you could say that," Ali replied sweetly.

"Yeah…but still, I wanted to thank you for…well…accepting me for who and what I am. I know it was hard for you to trust a creature besides that of your own kind, but you made the effort anyway. For that, I'm grateful. Truly."

"It's okay Jason. You taught me a lot too. It was because you were here with us that I was able to accept you for who, and what, you are. So, I should thank you too," Ali said nobly with a brave smile. Jason nodded, touched by Ali's words. They exchanged farewells and Jason finally came to the final member of the group where they stood gazing into each other's eyes.

"Littlefoot…out of everyone here I…I think you're just about the only one I can't think of something to say to." The crowd laughed aloud as Jason scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed, "you've given me so much and helped me survive my most grueling and trying section of my entire life. You and your friends stood by me pretty much every step of the way. You didn't give up on me. As with the others, I'm indebted to you for everything you've done for me…I just don't know how I can possibly repay you for all your kindness, caring and acceptance."

"It's fine Jason," Littlefoot said slowly and clearly, "you have given me just as much in return with your friendship and teaching all of us so any new things I didn't even know about our own home. You have been a wonderful friend. So I must thank you for that."

Jason ducked his head. Littlefoot's words had hit hard, striking him with such power. The tightness in his chest was intensifying, pulling unbearably. He looked up at Littlefoot again, his smile trembling and his eyes lined with a thin stream of tears. The emotion was contagious as all the other members of the gang began showing the same signs.

"Friends forever…right?" Littlefoot then said unexpectedly. His expression happy but his eyes brimmed with joyful tears. Jason blinked for a second then replied,

"…Friends forever." With that, everyone leapt forward and locked each other in a tight, loving hug. Hands looped over necks and long necks coiled around friends. All huddled together, all running high on emotions.

After a little while, they broke away from each other and composed themselves. Wiping their faces clear of any rolling, gleaming tears. Even the onlooking audience were choked by the touching scene. A few sniffled sounding from the crowd. Stone and Jill stood side by side, watching with sympathetic smiles.

"So…I guess this is it…" Jason said wiping his nose with a sleeve and sniffing sharply. The gang hummed and nodded. Jason then turned to march back to the console of the Chronos Doorway. With one last shuddering sigh, Jason lifted his hand to place it on the silvery box when a voice called out to him.

"Jason wait!" He froze solid and whirled around to see who had shouted out to him.

"Littlefoot?" he said sounding confused. Littlefoot was standing next to Jill who had just handed to the young longneck something. Turning to face Jason, Littlefoot smiled with a blue, shimmering rock in his mouth. Jason stood, baffled as Littlefoot walked up to him.

"Jason…please. Let me…" Littlefoot said through clenched teeth. Jason's hanging jaw quickly stretched into another smile. He nodded and stepped aside.

Striding past Jason, Littlefoot stood in front of the Doorway's console. With a deep breath to clear his mind, Littlefoot hopped onto his hind legs and placed his forefeet on the terminal. He felt the sudden burst of excited energy jolt through his body. It flashed cold and then warm as it shot down every nerve and fibre of him before erupting though his feet. The console sparked and crackled into life and a gust of wind exploded from the giant ring of the machine. As the strength of the wind dwindled, a massive ball of rippling blue light grew in the centre of the archway. All onlookers gaped and stared in dumbfounded awe at the portal that warbled and wavered like a vertical pool of water as Littlefoot dropped back down onto all fours. Contented, he looked to Jason who stepped up beside him as he dropped the Guardian's Tear Sapphire to the ground.

"Thanks Littlefoot," he beamed, "you know you didn't have to do that."

"I know," Littlefoot replied, "I wanted to help you…y'know…'right the final wrong'." Jason rocked his head back and forth in accepting acknowledgement. Somehow, he felt better about Littlefoot activating the Chronos Doorway rather than him.

"Power's on but falling gradually," Stone reported as he analysed the screen on the terminal, "we don't have much time."

"It's okay. Stone and I will start sending though the supplies. Jason, you finish up here and meet us at the top of the ramp," Jill said giving Jason a wink as she grabbed the nearest bag and hauled it up to the portal. Jason nodded solemnly as he turned back to his friends. He wanted to say something but his mind was scrambled with a flurry of thoughts, memories and emotions. All he could do was gaze into their tear-stained eyes and smile.

"Have a safe journey," Littlefoot then said bravely.

"Thanks," Jason said a little croakily. Then, something came to mind.

Slowly, Jason reached for his neck, pulled his gold pendant up over his head and, on approaching Littlefoot, gently slipped it over Littlefoot's head.

"I want you to have this Littlefoot…a memento from me," Jason said letting the pendant drop and fall down Littlefoot's neck.

"Your gold vine and red stone!" Littlefoot gasped watching the triangular ruby bounce off his front.

"Yeah. To remember me by."

"But…this was your mother's wasn't it?"

"It was. She gave it to me so I'd remember her…so I wanna give it to you so you and your friends will remember me." Littlefoot was astounded.

"Thanks Jason. But if I'm going to have this from you, I want you to take my stone with you…so you can remember me."

"Sounds like a fair trade," Jason smiled as Littlefoot craned his head down to pick up his sapphire. Jason held out his hand and Littlefoot dropped it into his palm.

"Thanks," he beamed closing his fingers around it.

Power's failing," Stone shouted aloud, "we gotta get a move on kid."

"Okay!" Jason hollered back. He was about to walk away when Jason snapped his fingers and quickly turned back.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he said looking back to the gang, "the little glade, that spot in the trees with the big rock where we met up the other day? Head there. There's something there for you guys."

"What is it?" Ali called as Jason headed up the ramp.

"You'll see…go check it out," he urged.

Now standing at the top of the ramp, inches from the portal, Jason, Jill, Stone and Zephyr glanced back at the crowd who were cheering and wishing them well. One by one, Jill, followed by Stone and Zephyr waved goodbye and past into the blue light. The gang stood at the base of the ramp as they watched Jason give one last wave.

"Goodbye my friends!" he hollered to them weakly but with a cheerful smile.

"Goodbye Jason!" they all shouted back. Their eyes seeping tears again. With that final farewell, Jason turned to the rippling blue portal and stepped forward. The light consumed him, robbing him from sight just as the console fizzled unhealthily. The light began to shrink and fade to white before completely collapsing on itself and disappearing from view.

With the last trace of the portal gone, an awkward silence felt over the remaining residents of the Great Valley. The gang were still gazing through the ring as if Jason was still standing there looking back and waving goodbye. It was hard to believe that, after everything that had occurred, it was finally all over. Only a few traces of evidence proving that the humans had ever set foot in the dinosaur realm remained. The Chronos Doorway and the ruins of the complex in the Forest of Fear.

"He's…really gone…" Littlefoot breathed silently to himself. He felt the pendant swing around his neck, knocking against him and he suddenly started to wonder. As the crowd slowly started to disperse, Littlefoot approached the console of the Chronos Doorway.

"Littlefoot?" Ducky hummed sounding slightly concerned about what Littlefoot was about to do. He didn't respond. Feeling the ruby floating over his chest, Littlefoot clumsily grabbed the stone in his teeth and hopped up to place his front feet on the terminal, expecting to feel the usual flush of energy surge through him. Littlefoot was shocked to discover…he felt nothing at all. Nothing happened. Sighing, Littlefoot released the ruby from his mouth, allowing it to drop the length of its chain and allowed gravity to pull his levitated feet back to his normal standing position. It was crystal clear as to what Littlefoot had been hoping to achieve, but the true fact stood solid and firm like a towering brick wall before him. Jason was gone for good.

"Littlefoot? You…okay?" Petrie cawed gently in his ear.

"Hmm? Oh yeah…I'm okay," he replied. By now, they were the only ones left standing before the Chronos Doorway.

"It is so sad that Jason had to leave," Ducky said mournfully. Spike hummed lowly.

"I hope he got back okay," Ali added eyeing the gigantic machine.

"He should be fine," Cera piped in trying not to sound as disheartened as she really was, "I'm sure we'll remember him. They left some things behind don't forget." Suddenly, Littlefoot's brain clicked.

"That spot…in the trees. Jason said there was something there for us to see," he announced.

"Well c'mon! Let's go see," Cera shouted. All six of them broke into a dash and headed for the glade.

At full speed, the gang got to their destination in no time and, leaping through the surrounding shrubbery, they entered the sunny little copse.

"You see anything?" Cera asked the group as they scanned the area.

"Nope…nothing," Littlefoot reported searching high and low.

"Me no see anything neither," Petrie announced sweeping the treetops.

"What are we looking for?" Ali asked.

"I dunno," Cera said starting to get irritable, "but if this is some kinda dumb joke, that human will be glad he left! Coz I'd…"

"Guys! Lookie here! Spike finded something!" ducky shrilled as loud as she could. The gang huddled around the large, oblong rock at the top end of the copse and gasped in awe. There, etched in the surface of the stone, was a picture. A picture, hand scrawled by some unknown instrument, of the entire gang stood, in a line, one after the other. At the back, furthest left, was Spike with Ducky riding atop him. Next was Cera, followed by Ali, led by Jason, Petrie just airborne over him and leading them was Littlefoot. Above them hovered a carving of the three triangles that made up the Heaven's Eternity Crystal.

"Wow! Jason…did this?" Ali gaped with wide eyes.

"I guess so," Littlefoot breathed amazed, "something else for us to remember."

"Whad'dya mean Littlefoot?" Cera asked perplexed.

"A memory…off all of us…together…" he said slowly yet meaningfully. The gang all smiled and huddled close together as they scanned the memorial dedicated to them…and their incredible friendship that stretched over the impossible boundaries of time, to triumph over the greatest of odds.

"Thank you Jason…for everything," Littlefoot whispered as he gazed at the carving, "we'll never forget you. I just hope…someday…somehow…we'll meet again." With a warm smile, the gang settled down around their memorial to reminiscence on their adventure.


	26. Epilogue

Epilogue

And so, the epic test of friendship, strength and courage came to its victorious conclusion. The ones destined to carry the sacred Stones of Essence had vanquished their adversaries aided by their friends. They fought valiantly and overcame the most impossible of barriers and even in death, they battled on to restore the perfect equilibrium that governed all life on the planet. Thanks to their virtuous efforts, the world is at rest once more despite completing their most challenging of tasks…parting to go their separate ways to ensure the balance was truly re-established. However, although they find themselves divided physically, they all remain connected in spirit; their memories locked away in their hearts for ever.

But, as time passes, destinies unfold further and a new tale is born from the ashes of the past. New bearers of the stones and their allies step forward to protect the balance and nature of all that is surveyed. But for a new story to begin, the one before it must come to an end…

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Much time has past. Many seasonal cycles had come and gone transforming the Great Valley with its tides of weather. The air was warm now with the sweet scent of summer and Littlefoot stood gazing out over the fields of wavering grass and grazing dinosaurs. He and his friends were a little older now but not quite at the age to have their say in the meeting area. The elders still considered them children but they had all grown in size a little since the humans left all that time ago. Still, life in the Great Valley was as ever blissful as it always was.

Taking a deep breath and inhaling the perfume scent of the blooming flowers, Littlefoot trotted down the hillside to get to the usual quiet spot. The tranquil little enclosure in the forest where their memorial stood. Before Ali had left with her migrating herd to continue her travels, all six of them had named their gathering place "Friendship's Circle". They met there nearly every day just to chat and recall fond memories of their adventures, in particular, their confrontation with the Red Phoenix.

Littlefoot pushed his way through the shrubs, his ruby pendant swung around the base of his neck. Since the day Jason gave it to him, he never took it off. He paused in the centre of the sunny, circular glade and stared at the rock that had their portraits etched into. Apart from moss that had started growing on the top and down one side of the rock's surface, it looked just like it did the day they found it. The gang took it in turns to ensure that their little memorial remained clean, free of climbing plants and the like. Today was Littlefoot's shift. With his tail, he rubbed the surface of the rock, scrubbing the moss off.

"_Cera's been slacking again" _Littlefoot thought to himself smiling as he scored the last of the green away.

"There…much better!" Littlefoot said aloud admiring his work, "hmm…I wonder what Jason, Jill and Stone have been doing with themselves all this time." He stared into the stone picture, "What I wouldn't give to see them again."

With a sigh, Littlefoot turned to head out of the glade when, all of a sudden, a bright flash erupted over the sky.

"What was that?" Littlefoot gasped gawking up over the tops of the trees. His stomach started doing excited flips when he realised where the flash had come from.

"That was over by the Doorway!" he yelped ecstatically. With a quick kick, Littlefoot shot off to the Great Valley border where the Chronos Doorway resided.

All on his own, Littlefoot arrived at the huge machine which was covered in foliage and vines. A landmark unique to the Great Valley, an unintentional gift left behind courtesy of the now diminished Red Phoenix Corporation. Excitement and the rush of adrenaline increased the tempo of Littlefoot's heartbeat as he scanned the surrounding area for any signs of anything. So far, he'd found nothing but a few randomly places boulders, some scattered trees and a mess of greenery which looked like it had been blown off a high perch.

"Hello?" Littlefoot called feeling a little shaky from the electric energy buzzing inside him. Could it be him? Could he have come back after so long?

"Hello? Anyone there?" he called again. Nothing.

"Must have been my imagination," he told himself, "but I could have sworn I saw something…"

Just then, Littlefoot heard a rustling from behind. He whirled around to the source of the noise, his eyes wide with anticipated excitement.

"Jason?" he called…


	27. A Note from the Author

Hi there!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who took the time and patience to read my story. I also want to thank you for all of the reviews you have all submitted for Battle of the Sacred Essences. My story would not be as successful if it were not for the readers. Thank you! I will be continue to work on this story to iron out any errors, typos and the rest but consider this fanfic complete. Please feel free to get in contact with me if you so wish via email, IM, PM etc.

I 've already had numerous emails and PMs about writing a sequel and tying up the loose ends I've left in the story...I won't say anything just yet, but I'll leave you with this little snippet below...

Thanks again to all readers. I truly hope you enjoyed my first ever fanfic piece

**_Thunderblade_**

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**Teaser (work in progress; subject to alteration)**

The city streets were deserted. Vehicles lay buckled and destroyed, scattered all over the place. The tall buildings, cracked and damaged, loomed over the ground like sinister giants in the dark night as the rain poured mercilessly from the heavens. There, in the darkness of this forsaken scene was a figure draped in a black hooded cloak, his face swallowed by the hood's depth and the poor light. His entire body was masked by the flowing cloak as he walked silently through the storm…alone.

Suddenly, the figure stopped. Something was wrong; he could sense it. A blinding flash of lightning tore from the blackened sky and struck the ground before him. Unphased, the figure watched as the ground rippled with a dark mist. Then, without warning, ghostly creatures began rising up out if the mist. Human in form but with glowing yellow eyes and wrapped in a swampy black fog. More and more of these bizarre creatures rose from the murky fog, surrounding the cloaked figure who remained calmly stood in the centre of the chaos emerging around him. He didn't seem to care as the creatures multiplied exponentially from the mist.

Within seconds, hundreds of these evil beings stood, encasing the figure in a tight ring. Escape was impossible. As the creatures eyes their target menacingly, wavering around unsteadily yet determined to seize their captive. The figure still stood unmoving although it was clear from the stance that fear was not the emotion on show. The first row of creatures hissed and threw themselves directly at him, launching their attack. With that, the figure finally responded. With a quick spin, he reached inside his cloak and drew his swords………

**_BATTLE OF THE SACRED ESSENCES II _(working title)**

**_COMING SOON_**


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